hit in his career as a professional- of course this includes his career with the Orix Blue Wave of the Nippon Baseball League and the Mariners.
So, I have four questions up for debate about Ichiro:
1. Is he a Hall of Fame player, as in the Cooperstown HOF? I'm going to go with yes. I think he is a transcendent player in that he showed that Japanese pros could play in the Big Leagues as position players and succeed. He also holds the single season record for hits in a season.
2. Is he going to have 3,000 hit in the US? I'm going to go with yes again- he is 34 and has over 1700 as his MLB career stands.
3. Would he end up with more hits than Pete Rose had he played his entire career in the US? I'm going to go with yes again.
4. Does he still have a chance to catch Rose? At this time, I have to say no, but I want him to. The best shot he has at Rose is to pull a Julio Franco and play until age 50. He is in really good shape, so I think he will at least maybe have a chance to hold up.
So, I have four questions up for debate about Ichiro:
1. Is he a Hall of Fame player, as in the Cooperstown HOF? I'm going to go with yes. I think he is a transcendent player in that he showed that Japanese pros could play in the Big Leagues as position players and succeed. He also holds the single season record for hits in a season.
2. Is he going to have 3,000 hit in the US? I'm going to go with yes again- he is 34 and has over 1700 as his MLB career stands.
3. Would he end up with more hits than Pete Rose had he played his entire career in the US? I'm going to go with yes again.
4. Does he still have a chance to catch Rose? At this time, I have to say no, but I want him to. The best shot he has at Rose is to pull a Julio Franco and play until age 50. He is in really good shape, so I think he will at least maybe have a chance to hold up.