MLB News and Updates: Ichiro Suzuki Triples to Score His 3,000th Hit in the Major Leagues
Ichiro Suzuki hit a triple off of Chris Rusin of the Colorado Rockies at Coors Park in Denver Colorado to become just the 30th player to collect 3,000 hits in his career. The hit was sent to right field, where it was short just 10 feet of becoming a home run. This was only the second time that a player hit a triple for his 3000th career hit. Ichiro is the first player from Japan and only the 4th player born outside of the United States, to reach this hallowed mark.
Ichiro Suzuki has been in the MLB for 15 years, which is remarkable on its own, but when you consider that he entered the league at the age of 27, and he is currently at the ripe old age of 42, then his current deeds look even that more impressive. He is currently playing for the Miami Marlins as they chase the Wild Card for a playoff spot in the National League. Ichiro says that getting a record for a team in contention makes the achievement much more satisfying.
Seattle Mariner for 11 years
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Ichiro signed a 2 year deal with Miami in 2015 after spending 3 years with the New York Yankees. But Ichiro will always be known as Seattle Mariner, where he spent his first 11 years. In 2001, Ichiro entered the league as a 27-year old rookie from Japan. Despite his success in his native country, he had a lot of skeptics, who were concerned about his wiry frame and short stature. A lot of his critics said that he would not have enough power or strength to hit in the Major Leagues. Ichiro proved his critics wrong, not only winning the AL rookie of the year, but also bagging that year's league MVP.
That prodigious start would only be a sign of things to come as Ichiro strung together a historic run with the Mariners. To put it into context, having 200 hits in one season is widely considered a career year and a rare baseball achievement. Not only did Ichiro reach that mark in his rookie season (a rookie record 242) but he went on to breach the 200 mark for a unprecedented 10 years. His most successful season was in 2004, when he hit 262 and broke George Sisler's single-season hit record that stood for 84 years.
Breaking MLB record
Ichiro also has an additional 1,278 hits from when he played in Japan, making him the unofficial hit king with 4,278 career hits between the MLB and the Nippon League. This is the most hits in professional baseball, eclipsing the MLB record of 4,256 by Pete Rose. While this may not be an official record, he may just break the MLB record as he has stated in the past that he plans to play 8 more years or until he reaches the age of 50.
