{"id":253,"date":"2023-08-08T21:08:40","date_gmt":"2023-08-08T21:08:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.314stories.com\/?page_id=253"},"modified":"2023-08-08T21:08:40","modified_gmt":"2023-08-08T21:08:40","slug":"ichiros-decade-of-brilliance","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.314stories.com\/?page_id=253","title":{"rendered":"Ichiro\u2019s Decade of Brilliance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Prior to his arrival, Major League Baseball had seen some Japanese players, and even a few hitters, but nothing before like Ichiro Suzuki<\/a>.\u00a0 Over the course of his first ten seasons in the big leagues, it was easy to miss what he accomplished.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 People leaned on his reputation as a speedy, slap-hitting singles specialist who benefited from the spacious expanse of Safeco Field: Ichiro was a left-handed hitter\u2013already more likely to reach base on shorter singles and bleeders\u2013and he did have an inordinate number of career hits in that ten-year span that came as singles (about 80%.)\u00a0 When Ichiro set the single season hit record of 262 in 2004, he had <\/span>only<\/span><\/i> 37 extra-base hits.\u00a0 Safeco <\/span>was<\/span><\/i> known as a pitcher\u2019s park with power alleys of 390 feet in left-center and 386 in right-center.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 All the naysayers had what appeared to be adequate support when they made slap-hitting, banjo claims about Ichiro\u2019s baseball skills at the plate.\u00a0 Or did they\u2026?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Prior to the start of the 2011 season, Ichiro had played 10 full seasons in the majors and amassed a career average of .331, with 2244 hits in 1588 games.\u00a0 His lifetime average at the time placed him #23 on the all-time list, though many of the players ahead of him played about twice as many games (in much longer careers.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 When factoring in the hits he accrued during the seasons he played in Japan prior to coming here (1278) only Pete Rose, Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron and Stan Musial had more hits than Ichiro.\u00a0 And that was after only ten seasons in the Majors.\u00a0 There were disparagements against that argument, considering how the talent and competition in Japanese leagues paled compared to MLB in the States.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, let\u2019s look just at what Ichiro has accomplished since he came here at the age of 27.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Only Albert Pujols, also a ten season veteran that year, ranked higher at the time on the all-time list for career average among active players .\u00a0 Ichiro\u2019s 2244 hits prior to the 2011 season placed him at #158 on the <\/span>all-time<\/span> MLB list, 12<\/span>th<\/span> among active players.\u00a0 His 383 stolen bases ranked 75<\/span>th <\/span>all-time, but 5<\/span>th<\/span> among active players.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 That already placed him in great company.\u00a0 Sure, he arrived as an experienced 27 year-old, in his baseball prime. But, if anything, Ichiro played better than advertised.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Here is something compelling: Ichiro had 200 hits in every one of his first ten seasons in the bigs\u2013a feat repeated by <\/span>no one<\/b> in history.\u00a0 In fact, it takes a great deal of combing to find any hitters who amassed something close to that many 200-hit seasons in their careers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 In his rookie year, Ichiro stroked 242 hits, and in the nine subsequent seasons never hit fewer than 206 (\u201905.)\u00a0 He was also remarkably durable, as he had only once played fewer than 150 games (146 in 2004.)\u00a0 In his other nine seasons, Ichiro played more than 157 games, including <\/span>six<\/span><\/i> seasons with 161 or 162 games.\u00a0 In those latter two seasons, Ichiro scored more than 100 runs eight times and stole more than 30 bases nine times.\u00a0 During that decade, his low was 26 stolen bases in 2009; his high, 56 in 2001.\u00a0 They say speed kills and speed dies, but Ichiro later stole 42 in 2010 at the age of 36.\u00a0 During his ten seasons, Ichiro batted as high as .372 (2004) and as low as .303 (2005), though he hit above .320 six times.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 There are two likely arguments against the brilliance of Ichiro: his propensity for hitting singles and that he was already an established player in his prime (27) when he arrived.\u00a0 These are both viable arguments. \u00a0 Here are some of the other premier hitters over the years for comparison:<\/span><\/p>\n

Wade Boggs<\/b><\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Boggs, also known for most of his career as a slap-hitter, made his major-league debut in 1982 and spent 18 years playing the hot corner for teams throughout the AL East, concluding his career with the upstart Devil Rays, for whom his number is retired.\u00a0 Boggs had 3010 career hits and a .328 career average, currently #39 on the all-time list.\u00a0 Never a power threat (118 career HRs) or a speed threat (24 career SBs and 61 career triples) Boggs did,however, hit a large number of doubles: 578, #24 all-time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 However, Boggs played 81 games per year in Fenway Park during his salad days and was known to slap doubles off the Green Monster with regularity.\u00a0 During his Sox years, Boggs often hit more than 40 doubles; he barely exceeded 20 doubles in any of the seasons he played as a member of the Yankees and Rays.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Boggs had seven career 200-plus hit seasons and seven career 100-plus run seasons, numbers not far behind Ichiro\u2019s.\u00a0 Boggs played more than 160 games only once, when he logged 161 as a twenty-seven year old.\u00a0 Five times Boggs exceeded 150 games and another five he played at least 140 games.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 What to make of this comparison?\u00a0 For sake of argument, here are the seasons Boggs logged when <\/span>he<\/span><\/i> was between the ages of 28 and 37.\u00a0 During that ten-season span, Boggs had 1890 hits (354 fewer than Ichiro.)\u00a0 His seven 100-plus run seasons all came during that time, though his average fluctuated from .368 down to .259.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The percentage of Wade Boggs\u2019 career hits which were singles?\u00a0 75%.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rod Carew<\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Rod Carew made his major-league debut in 1967 at the age of 22 and played nineteen seasons.\u00a0 His years in MLB yielded a career average of .328 (also #40 all-time) and he tallied 3053 hits.\u00a0 Carew, <\/span>slightly<\/span><\/i> speedier than Boggs, racked up 445 career doubles, 112 triples and 353 stolen bases. \u00a0 Carew\u2019s power numbers were comparable to Boggs\u2019 and Ichiro\u2019s: 92 career HRs to 118 and 90, respectively, so he was more of a ball-in-play guy than many others.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Carew had four career 200-plus hit seasons and exceeded 100 runs only once, but perhaps the latter comparison is unfair due to the fact that Boggs and Carew were almost never leadoff men. \u00a0 Carew may have played nineteen seasons but only exceeded 150 games four times.\u00a0 His injury history was spotty, but ever-present.\u00a0 Like Ichiro, Carew played for some egregious teams, as he landed with the Twins near the end of their mediocre years and reached the Angels before they began to succeed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 During the ten seasons between when Carew was 28 and 37 years old, he roped 1837 hits (407 less than Ichiro) and his average fluctuated between .305 and .364 during full seasons.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Carew\u2019s career percentage of singles was 79%.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pete Rose<\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Surely if there is a player comparable to Ichiro, it was the hit-king, Charlie Hustle?\u00a0 Pete Rose debuted for the Red in 1963 at the age of 22 and is number one on the all-time hit list with 4256 hits, though his career average was only .303.\u00a0 During his 26 seasons a player and player-manager for the Reds and Phillies, Pete also racked-up 746 doubles, 135 triples and 160 homers, so it would appear that he had more power than the other three men.\u00a0 He also played seven more seasons than Carew, eight more than Boggs, so that could account for some of the difference.\u00a0 For as much as his hustle earned Pete his reputation, Rose stole only 198 career bases: well ahead of Carew and the near-glacial Boggs, but far shy of Ichiro\u2019s 383 over his first ten years.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Rose logged 10 career 200+ hit seasons <\/span>and<\/span><\/i> 10 100+ run seasons, so he topped Ichiro in the latter category.\u00a0 Pete did not amass his 200-hit seasons in consecutive years, nor during the first ten years of his career. \u00a0 Rose also gained a <\/span>slight<\/span><\/i> advantage from the supporting cast on the Big Red Machine. \u00a0 Rose remains among the standard-bearers for durability played more than 150 games in seventeen seasons, nine of which saw him in action more than 160 times.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0When Pete was between 28 and 37 (1968-1977) he totaled 1857 hits (387 less than Ichiro) and his average fluctuated from .284 to .348.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Rose career percentage of singles was 76%.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ted Williams<\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Could we find adequate comparison to Ichiro in the Splendid Splinter.\u00a0 Let us forgive Ichiro if he has yet to take on the heady task of publishing his own version of <\/span>The Science of Hitting<\/span>: the baseball-bible worn thin by many hopeful young men who wanted to walk in even one of Ted\u2019s shoes.\u00a0 Ted Williams debuted in 1934, at the age of 20, and played twenty seasons in the bigs, retiring with exceptional numbers even though he lost many of his prime years to military service.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 As Teddy Ballgame was the last man to hit over .400, there is little question on his value as a hitter.\u00a0 Due to his seasons limited by service and injury, Williams scraped out \u201conly\u201d 2,684 hits (not even enough to be among the top fifty all-time.)\u00a0 But he is #10 on the all-time list for batting average (.344), so he made those hits count.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Hardly a speed-merchant (24 lifetime stolen bases), Ted smote 525 doubles, 71 triples and 521 homeruns.\u00a0 He also scored 1,798 career runs for Sox teams that were sometimes in contention.\u00a0 Playing in the (at the time) major-league-standard 154 games per season, it may not be surprising that Williams never tallied a 200+ hit season, but he did rake more than 180 hits for seven seasons, so he held his own.\u00a0 He also had nine 100-plus run seasons and played in 150-plus games four times; with four more at 140 or more.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 In the years between ages 28 and 37 (1946-1955), Williams had 1303 hits though he only played in 43 total games in the 1952 and 1953 seasons.\u00a0 His average swung between .317 and .346.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Ted\u2019s percentage of career hits as singles is remarkably low (58%) which underscores his well-earned reputation as an extra-base man.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lou Gehrig<\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The Iron Horse, another stellar ballplayer whose career was cut short, debuted in 1923, at the ripe young age of 19.\u00a0 He played sixteen more seasons and finished with 2,721 hits, 534 doubles, 163 triples and 494 homeruns.\u00a0 Gehrig also stole 102 bases and scored 1888 runs in his career. \u00a0 He stands at #19 on the all-time career average list with a lifetime .340.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Lou Gehrig was neither hampered by injury as often, nor as perturbed by fewer games each season: he had eight 200+ hit seasons and 13 seasons with 100 or more runs.\u00a0 Over his career, Gehrig never batted lower than .295; he maxed out at a more than respectable .379.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 In the years when he was between 28 and 36 (Gehrig died at age 36, so his seasons for comparison to Ichiro are fewer) he cracked out 1582 hits and batted between .295 and .363.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Much like Williams, Gehrig\u2019s extra bases diminish his career percentage of singles, all the way down to 56%.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ty Cobb<\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Could it be that Ichiro\u2019s closest statistical comparison is the original hit-king?\u00a0 He of the metal spikes, the hard slides and the foul reputation, so diametrically-opposed to Ichiro, who gave an enormous percentage of his salary for Tsunami-relief in Japan?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The Georgia Peach debuted in 1905, at the age of nineteen and lasted a remarkable 24 seasons in the major, through countless death threats, threatening behaviors (he once charged a heckler in the stands), and self-abuse.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Hardly a power man\u2014Cobb hit only 117 career HRs\u2014he did set a standard for hits (4191) thought to be unbreakable until Rose came along nearly fifty years later.\u00a0 Cobb\u2019s 723 doubles ranks him 4<\/span>th<\/span> all-time, and his 297 triples is #2.\u00a0 Until the modern era, Cobb held one of the longest-standing baseball records, in stolen bases, with 892 (still #4 all-time.)\u00a0 A terror on the base-paths, he scored 2245 career runs (50 behind Rickey Henderson\u2019s #1) and averaged a ridiculous .367 for his career.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Ty Cobb racked up nine 200+ hit seasons, eleven of them with more than 100 runs (including one at age 41.)\u00a0 His season <\/span>low<\/span><\/i> at the plate was .323 (at age 42!), his high was an unimaginable .420.\u00a0 A picture of durability for the middle part of his career Cobb had six seasons with more than 150 games and another five with greater than 140. <\/span>Cobb\u2019s 28-37 year-old years (1914-1923) saw him batting between .334 and .401, when he amassed 153 hits.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Cobb\u2019s career percentage of singles is 73%.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 So what to make of Ichiro\u2019s ten year run?\u00a0 The six other men on the list probably enter nearly every \u201cGreatest Hitter of All-Time\u201d discussion, and for three (Gehrig, Williams and Carew) the gushing about the purity of their hitting strokes continues to this day.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0What Ichiro did in his ten first seasons rivaled what these other five men did in the ten best years of their careers, when taken in terms of pure hitting.\u00a0 In fact, not one of them did all of this in the time between his 27<\/span>th<\/span> and 36<\/span>th<\/span> birthdays: he had nearly 400 more hits in those ten seasons than the next closest among these men (Boggs) during that span in their careers and, in the case of Boggs, most of those hits came in the early half of those ten years.\u00a0 By the time he was 36, Boggs was all but done.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 What Ichiro did has been accomplished by no other player in any ten years of his career, and Ichiro did it ten years <\/span>in a row<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0 So, take a moment to celebrate what the first Japanese position player accomplished in the first ten years of his MLB career.\u00a0 Take longer than that and he was probably already at Second Base.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Prior to his arrival, Major League Baseball had seen some Japanese players, and even a few hitters, but nothing before like Ichiro Suzuki.\u00a0 Over the course of his first ten seasons in the big leagues, it was easy to miss what he accomplished.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 People…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":186,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-253","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.314stories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.314stories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.314stories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.314stories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.314stories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=253"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.314stories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/253\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":254,"href":"https:\/\/www.314stories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/253\/revisions\/254"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.314stories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.314stories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}