Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
July 30, 2007
What Could Have Been

Ichiro Suzuki knocked out hits 1500 and 1501 yesterday, making him the third fastest player to reach 1500. He's accomplished the feat in less than seven seasons, making me wonder where he'd be if he spent his entire career in the major leagues. He hit the majors at seasonal age 27, meaning he could have come up at 20 and played seven years prior. It's not unreasonable to think he could have picked up 1200 hits in that time. He came up at age 18 in Japan and collected 1278 hits in shorter seasons. It's quite possible if he were playing in the United States, he'd be sitting on 3000 hits by the end of this season.

That means at age 33, he might be ahead of Cobb, who collected 2856 hits through that seasonal age. Given Ichrio's ability and drive, there's a chance he could have passed Rose's hit mark eventually. While that's not going to happen, it's going to be fun watching to see if he can reach 3000 hits. It was impressive for Wade Boggs to reach that level with the late start he had in his career. Ichiro would be even more amazing.


Posted by David Pinto at 09:03 AM | Records | TrackBack (0)
Comments

If Ichiro had come up as a 20 year-old, he probably would not have nearly as many hits as you might think. He has a batting style that is totally contrary to accepted baseball wisdom. As a 20 year-old, batting coaches would have forced him to change that style, and he probably would not be as successful. Coming as an established Japanese star, widely sought after, no batting coach has dared to try to change his approach, no matter how much they may cringe every time they see him bat.

Posted by: Cameron King at July 30, 2007 12:36 PM

If he can average 200 hits a year for 7+ more years he will pass Rose in combined hits. That would be no small feat, but a few more 225 hit seasons in his 30s will allow him a 175 hit season or two as he nears 40. I know the hits from Japan won't actually count, but if he gets to 4300 total, don't you think he will be embraced as the hit king?

Posted by: Chris at July 30, 2007 04:19 PM

I think they should count his Japan league hits as part of his overall career totals, simply because a lot of 1800's players have their stats from other leagues included. He was in the Japanese major leagues, so his major league total is actually 2,779. Even if it never counts towards his MLB total, I think everyone will admire him for the combined total when everything's said and done.

Posted by: Devon's Baseball Thoughts at July 30, 2007 04:35 PM
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