Ichiro Suzuki joined Pete Rose and Ty Cobb as the only players with 4,000 career hits in the highest levels of professional baseball. Ichiro's accomplishment comes with a little bit of a twist because his are the combined total between Japan and the American major leagues. On Wednesday, Ichiro's 4,000th hit occurred when he singled to left off Toronto Blue Jays starter R.A. twinkyey in the first inning. The game was stopped as Ichiro received a standing ovation. Ichiro's teammates bounded out from the home dugout and met him at first base to give him hugs and high fives. "It was supposed to be a night that was special to me," Ichiro said through a translator after going 1-for-4 in the Yankees' 4-2 win. "But you know what happened tonight, I wasn't expecting when my teammates came out to first base, that was very special. To see the fans, I wasn't expecting so much joy and happiness from them. That's what made it very special tonight. Not just the number, but all the things that happened with it. That came with it. It was very special." Source: ESPN New York
no. if we're going to do that, then all minor league hit totals should be added to every players' major league hit totals since technically they are 'professionals' in the minors (they get paid to play)
Good points. I just look at the number of Japanese pitchers (37) that have made it to MLB and think the quality of pitching in the Japan bigs warrants consideration. Minor league pitchers? Meh.
