Sure, there hasn't been any shortage major league greats throughout baseball's history, but many of them can be categorized together as good-but-similar... And none are quite like Ichiro Suzuki. Here are some Ichiro facts:
He has played nine seasons... and he has led the American league in singles ALL NINE YEARS. Nobody else has ever led a league in singles nine times.Ichiro is the only player to have nine consecutive 200-hit seasons, as well as a host of other brilliant accomplishments. There really is no other player like him in baseball. And did I mention that he's 36 years old, and still going strong?He missed the entire 2000 season (he was still playing in Japan)... and still had more hits than any player in the decade -- he had 90 more hits than second-place Derek Jeter. As Bill James points out... only Pete Rose, Sam Rice and Rogers Hornsby managed 2,000 hits in a decade. Ichiro, though, was the only one of the four to miss an entire season in that decade.
And here's a fun little list you can carry around in your wallet.Most times with 260 hits: Ichiro (1) Most times with 240 hits: Ichiro and Sisler (2) Most times with 230 hits: Ichiro (3) Most times with 220 hits: Ichiro (5) Most times with 210 hits: Ichiro, Cobb, Paul Waner (9) Most times with 200 hits: Rose (10); Ichiro and Cobb (9)