When Ichiro Suzuki left Japan in 2001 to play for The Seattle Mariners
nobody knew what to expect. The Mariners immediately had more press
coverage as many flocked to The Pacific Northwest to get a glimpse of
Ichiro. All Ichiro has done is put Major League Baseball on notice for
his greatness. Ichiro has amassed over 200 hits in every season with
Seattle including a Major League record in 2004 with 262. Only Al
Simmons reached the 2,000 hit plateau faster than Ichiro as he
accomplished the feat in 2010. Ichiro’s pro baseball career began in
Japan for The Orix BlueWave in 1992. While in Japan Ichiro collected
1,278 hits which makes you wonder, what if Ichiro had played his entire
career in America?
Ichiro currently has 3,640 hits combined from playing with The Mariners
and his time in Japan. Those numbers would place Ichiro fourth on The
Major League’s hit list only trailing Pete Rose, Ty Cobb, and Hank
Aaron. At age 37, time is not on his side to reach 3,000 as his
production is slowing down this year. With 50 games remaining, Ichiro
needs 74 hits to keep his 200 hit streak going which is also a Major
League record. It’s one thing to get 200 hits, but Ichiro gets 200 a
year and keeps going. Besides his record breaking season in 2004, Ichiro
has had seasons of 242, 238, 225, and 224 hits which is astonishing.
Generally one of the holy grails for baseball players to qualify for
enshrinement into The Baseball Hall of Fame is 3,000 hits. Ichiro would
probably need to play four more years at the pace that he is going to
get there. The Hall of Fame Committee will most likely take into
consideration the feats that Ichiro has accomplished. Ichiro possesses
one of the stronger arms for a right fielder that the game has seen as
he dares opponent to run on him. Ichiro made a name for himself in 2001
when he threw out Oakland Athletics outfielder Terrence Long at third
base on a routine base hit in which the speedy Long was attempting to go
from first to third. Normally Long would have made it standing up, but
he was forced to slide and once he was tagged Long stood up with a look
of disbelief on his face. Ichiro’s throwing arm ranks up there with the
greats such as Vladimir Guerrero, Roberto Clemente, and Dave Parker.
Ichiro is The Mariners all-time leader in batting average (.327),
at-bats (7,247), hits (2,370), triples (73), stolen bases (412), and
singles (1,933). Ichiro is a 10-time All Star selection including an MVP
performance in 2007 which saw Ichiro become the first man to hit an
inside the park homerun in All-Star Game history. Next to St. Louis
Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, Ichiro is arguably the most
prolific hitter of this generation. Ichiro has put a nation on his back
and paved the way for other Japanese players to come to America
including Kaz and Hideki Matsui. Being a trailblazer and an iconic
figure is good enough to be in consideration for The Hall of Fame. I
guarantee you that once Ichiro hangs up his cleats, a statue will have
his likeness outside of Seattle’s Safeco Field. Every time Ichiro takes
the field he is one step closer to Cooperstown.
If you one in, you must let them all in. It will interesting because McGwire is already on the ballot so it will be wait and see about him getting in.
I’m not so sure. I doubt the steroid guys are going to be first-balloters, but I bet in the next 5 – 10 years there’s going to be a more nuanced view of the steroid era.
In due time, I bet A-Rod and Bonds both get in.
We know Bonds and A-Rod won’t get in, but Ichiro, Pujols, Chipper, and Griffey will moonwalk in.
He’s gotta be a first ballot HOFer. I’m trying to think of players who were better in the 2000s: Pujols? Jeter? A-Rod? Bonds? Chipper Jones?
I agree his throwing arm ranks up there with the best that have ever played the game. If he started playing here in 1996 we might be talking about him catching Pete Rose.
It’s hard to think of Ichiro not making Cooperstown. If he’s not the best contact hitter in recent years, he can’t be far off, and he’s a superb right fielder to boot. And he’s hands-down the greatest Japanese player.
True indeed and Ichiro has had a great impact on the game of baseball and in Seattle.
Whats funny is that for some reason i was thinking the same thing the other day. I went to bed with the tv tuned into the MLB network. Ichiro most def. is a first ballot hall of famer. I cant see voters not voting him in, i mean come on, phil rizzuto is a hall of famer.