Ichiro: In a Hitting Class All By Himself

Yesterday against the Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners’ superstar Ichiro Suzuki broke a major league baseball record that stood for over 100 years. With his second inning infield single, Ichiro became the first player in major league history to record nine straight seasons of at least 200 hits.

Ichiro broke the record of eight consecutive 200 hit seasons set by Hall of Famer “Wee” Willie Keeler, who accomplished this feat from 1894-1901. Not to take anything away from Ichiro, but Keeler got his 200+ hits playing in about 140 games a year.

That is impressive.

When I first saw Ichiro hit back in the Spring of 2001, I thought there was no chance he would have the same success in the major leagues as he did in Japan. Up until that point, I had never seen a hitter try to run and hit the ball at the same time.

Sure, it’s common in softball, but in baseball, trying to hit a 85 mph slider?

No way.

Boy, was I dead wrong.

Ichiro is a fascinating and probably the most unique hitter in the history of the game. The way he can get a running start, keep his hands back, and hit an outside fastball going 95 mph almost defies logic.

What is even more amazing about Ichiro is that if you have ever watched him in batting practice, he can hit the ball as far as anyone. If he wanted to change his game completely, he probably could hit 20 HRs a year. That just tells you what kind of hitter he is.

Ichiro is easily in the top-five of the best pure hitters that I have ever seen (last 25 years). He is right up there with Tony Gwynn, Wade Boggs, Edgar Martinez, and Paul Molitor.

Ichiro is unquestionably a first-ballot Hall of Famer. The only question that remains is when it is all said and done, is Ichiro the greatest hitter of all-time?