Ichiro Makes 200 Hits Seem Routine

WSJ ^ | 24 Sep 2010 | Carl Bialik

[Palter]

Ichiro Suzuki reached the major leagues at age 27, after playing nine seasons in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league. He’s furiously making up for lost time in his compilation of incredible major-league statistics.

Ichiro notched his 200th hit of the season on Thursday, giving him 10 200-hit seasons out of 10 seasons total. He’s led the majors in hits in six of his seasons and is 10 ahead of anyone in that category this season; during his decade of play, he has 323 more hits than runner-up Derek Jeter. And Ichiro already shares the all-time record for 200-hit seasons with Pete Rose, who needed 15 seasons to get there.

He looks like a good bet to break the record. Of the 18 other players to have at least five 200-hit seasons, four had at least one after age 36. Ichiro’s batting average has hardly fallen off, and his top-notch fielding will keep him in the Seattle starting lineup for a while, barring injury. His biggest obstacle may be his light-hitting teammates. In 2001, when Seattle led the majors in runs scored, it also led in plate appearances, which makes sense — the more runs a team scores, the longer its half of innings and the more times up to the plate. That meant plenty of opportunities for Ichiro, the leadoff hitter — 4.7 per game. This year, Seattle is dead-last in the majors in runs per game and 29th of 30 teams in plate appearances, which means Ichiro is getting just 4.5 per game.

Such small margins matter in reaching tough milestones such as 200 hits in a season.

[Palter]

Ichiro takes off his helmet to acknowledge the cheers of fans after the Mariners outfielder collected his 200th hit of the season on Friday in Toronto.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

They named a motorcycle after him. What more does he want?

:-)

I no longer keep up with baseball so I was not aware of him at all. Thanks for posting this. He is remarkable.

[cripplecreek]

He’s one of those guys that shows that home runs aren’t the only thing that matters.

[MAexile]

He’s one of those guys that shows that home runs aren’t the only thing that matters.

It would be nice if he hit something other than singles, though.

[Roccus]

Haven't followed BB in decades, but for some reason I clicked your thread. That picture intrigued me, so I went looking for a video of that hit and found that it showed what I'd hope it would. A “professional” acting like a professional. It's something in short supply today.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100923&content_id=14994916&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb

Thanks for the post.

[cripplecreek]

Miguel Cabrera has 178 hits as of last night. 37 home runs and 124 RBIs I believe he also leads the league in intentional walks with more than 30.

[Hot Tabasco]

It would be nice if he hit something other than singles, though.

Then he's gonna have to start doing steroids or hamburgers..........

[texas booster]

True, but Suzuki is a pro that gets on bases and is still a threat to steal bases. Batting average should go up when men are on base.

[Paddyboy]

What the article fails to mention is that this guy plays in the little league..If he played real Baseball, ie National League, he'd be lucky to have 50 hits

[NavyCanDo]

I’ve always thought he has one of the funniest looking swings in baseball - but he somehow makes contact, and directs the balls path like a pool player picking his shot.

[Hegewisch Dupa]

that made a lot of sense

[Leto]

A great outfielder with a wonderful quick release and powerful accurate arm, great base runner. Ideal leadoff hitter.

[GLDNGUN]

What the article fails to mention is that this guy plays in the little league..If he played real Baseball, ie National League, he'd be lucky to have 50 hits

Was that a weak attempt at humor? Did you just forget the sarcasm tag? If not, here's a news flash...that "little league" as you call it has beaten the National League in the World Series in 12 of the last 18 meetings.

As for Suzuki, his batting average would probably be better in the NL. In the NL, managers sometimes have to pinch hit for a pitcher who's throwing very well, but the team trailing. That means sometimes the manager has to put in an ineferior pitcher on the mound because he can't allow the pitcher to bat in certain circumstances. No such problem in the AL. Strong pitchers can remain in the game as long as the manager wants him to, as the manager will never have to sit a pitcher in order to pinch hit for him. This means Ichiro faces better pitching in the AL than he would in the NL.

[Hegewisch Dupa]

The head-to-head inter-league stats are also in the Junior Circuit’s favor. His was one of the more moronic non-political statements I’ve seen here.