Ichiro Suzuki’s latest milestone has been a really big hit in Japan.
Newspapers yesterday published special editions for the morning rush hour, the national broadcaster led with the news and fans and dignitaries paid tribute yesterday after Suzuki raised his career hits total in the Japanese and North American major leagues to 4,257, passing Pete Rose’s record Major League Baseball total.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe praised Suzuki’s mark as “an amazing record.”
Photo: EPA
“A Japanese athlete has once again made a monumental contribution, and I feel tremendous pride,” Abe said.
The 42-year-old Suzuki singled in the first inning against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday and doubled in the ninth to move past Rose, who had 4,256 hits over 24 seasons.
“This wasn’t like a goal of mine to get to this point,” Suzuki said through a translator after the Miami Marlins’ 6-3 loss to the San Diego Padres.
Melvin Upton Jr homered and had two RBIs, and Derek Norris had a go-ahead, two-run single for the Padres, who stopped a four-game losing streak.
Suzuki’s first hit on Wednesday was on a dribbler in the first. His second was a double into the right-field corner in the ninth, when he took off his helmet and waved it to applauding fans. The crowd, announced at 20,037, and both teams’ players gave Suzuki a warm ovation.
Suzuki had 1,278 hits for Orix in Japan’s Pacific League (1992 to 2000) and has 2,979 with Seattle, the New York Yankees and Marlins.
Rose was quoted recently by USA Today as saying: “I’m not trying to take anything away from Ichiro, he’s had a Hall of Fame career, but the next thing you know, they’ll be counting his high-school hits.”
Suzuki said he had heard Rose’s comments.
“To be honest, this wasn’t something that I was a making out as a goal,” he said. “It was just kind of a weird situation to be in because of the combined total.”
“Ichiro is a really special player and I love to see him get this and keep his march going toward 3,000 hits,” in MLB, Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “It says a lot about him as a player, how he prepares every day and his love for playing.”
“He is like a national treasure,” office worker Tadahito Inaga said. “It will be fun to watch him go for 3,000.”
Japan’s national broadcaster NHK reported that Suzuki “broke the record for most hits ever by a Major League ballplayer,” while acknowledging the record is unofficial because it spans two professional leagues.
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