Saturday night, Ichiro Suzuki connected on a pitch from Oakland reliever Brian Fuentes to surpass Edgar Martinez for the Seattle Mariners' franchise lead in total hits (2,248).
It's no surprise; throughout Ichiro's career, he has been a record-setter for the Mariners.
In 2001—Ichiro's rookie season—he lead the league in both stolen bases (56) and batting average (.350). Already he was on the map, being the first major league player in over 50 years (since Jackie Robinson in 1949) to do so.
The following season he tallied 208 hits becoming the first player in Mariners history to have two consecutive 200 hit seasons. He hasn't looked back since—10 years later he's yet to have a major league season with less than 200 hits (and is the only major league player in history who can say that).
It was only two years later that Ichiro garnered 258 hits and broke George Sisler's record for most hits in a single season. He ended that season with a total of 262 hits and maintains that record today.
Ichiro also holds the franchise record for total bases stolen with a total of 386.
Also impressive, his annual batting average has never dipped below .300. The only close call was in 2005 (the same year that his hit count came closest to dipping below 200) when he ended with a BA of .303.
The Mariner's outfielder has been immortalized in bobbleheads year after year. Halfway through his rookie season one was sold for $803 in an MLB.com auction. This year's Ichiro bobblehead—May 6th's promotion—acknowledges his achievements by including a counter to help avid young sports fans tally his hit count.
Ichiro has long been Seattle's most steadfast player. This milestone, like those before it, will surely count in the many more to come.
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