[Huck]

All-star is meaningless. The hits are great. The glove is great. I'd vote him into Cooperstown. He's got speed. For the top of the lineup, he's great. But he's got no power. Someone has to drive him in.

Lou Gehrig was a 340 lifetime hitter, with 493 taters and 1995 RBIs. Ruth--342, 714, 2213. I could go on. Willie Mays. Ted Williams. A lot of better all-around hitters than Ichiro. Ichiro is hits, speed, and leather, but not much run production. And after all, it's runs that count. 90 career home runs? Gehrig had 1888 runs score. Ichiro has 1047. Perspective, son. Perspective.

[irishtenor]

How many years did Gehrig play? Ichiro been there only 10 years. Take ALL his pro numbers (yes, including Japan) and see where he sits. I’d say he was pretty high.
Also, the position in the batting order is of vital importance. A lead off hitter is supposed to get on base, a clean up hitter is supposed to hit him around. With Ichiro on first, the pitcher has to concentrate on both Ichiro and the batter. That is Ichiro’s job, to hassle the pitcher. Hard to do that sitting on the bench after a homer.