Ichiro

[frankbmd]

Regarding Ichiro's propensity for hitting singles instead of doubles and triples.

In Little League his coach probably repeated the mantra that "a walk is as good as a hit" over and over.

Ichiro had a learning disability and heard "a hit is as good a walk" over and over.
So he was just following instructions.

[Peter_Spaeth]

As the NY Times put it last year, 4256 hits and a big error.

As for Ichiro, I had not realized he never played in a WS. His teams only made the playoffs twice.

[jhs5120]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

As the NY Times put it last year, 4256 hits and a big error.

Rose deserves more criticism than "a big error" in my opinion. He extended his career in search for the hits record at the expense of his team. Plus he cheated (used corked bats) to get there.

[the 'stache]

I didn't know he couldn't leave Japan for nine years. I admit to knowing very little about the Japanese league.

I think, if anything, Ichiro's professional baseball hit total is a testament to his perseverance. And look at him now. A lot of people thought his career was almost over. Well, he's 42, and hitting .353 in 133 at bats. And, he's walked 17 times vs 8 strikeouts. He's still got fabulous hand eye coordination.

A year ago, I questioned if he'd ever get to 3,000. Now, it seems it would take an act of God, or Mothra, to keep him from getting there. And I will cheer loudly when he does.

Originally Posted by packs

I agree on Rose but what I'm saying is these posts seem to be trying to undermine his accomplishments in some way, or take away from what he's done, which I think is wrong. It wasn't Ichiro's fault he was born in Japan. He was obligated to play there for 9 seasons before he could become a free agent. He didn't play in Japan to duck the MLB, and he didn't play in Japan because he wasn't good enough for the MLB. He played there because he was obligated. So factor in that lack of freedom when discussing his career in two leagues instead of saying Ichiro faced weak competition, his hits aren't worth as much.

[the 'stache]

Hold the door....hold the door....hold door...hold door....Hodor...

Originally Posted by frankbmd

Regarding Ichiro's propensity for hitting singles instead of doubles and triples.

In Little League his coach probably repeated the mantra that "a walk is as good as a hit" over and over.

Ichiro had a learning disability and heard "a hit is as good a walk" over and over.
So he was just following instructions.

[dgo71]

Originally Posted by packs

I agree on Rose but what I'm saying is these posts seem to be trying to undermine his accomplishments in some way, or take away from what he's done, which I think is wrong. It wasn't Ichiro's fault he was born in Japan. He was obligated to play there for 9 seasons before he could become a free agent. He didn't play in Japan to duck the MLB, and he didn't play in Japan because he wasn't good enough for the MLB. He played there because he was obligated. So factor in that lack of freedom when discussing his career in two leagues instead of saying Ichiro faced weak competition, his hits aren't worth as much.

That certainly wasn't the intention of any of my posts. I maintain that Japanese baseball is of a much lesser quality than MLB, but that point wasn't to undermine Ichiro and all that he's done. Honestly I don't know why every accomplishment someone achieves has to be compared to someone else's accomplishment. Why can't Rose and Ichiro both be great? Why does it have to devolve into a quien es mas macho competition? My whole point is the qualifier "professional" tacked in front of "hit leader" makes it a false statement when trying to attribute that title to Ichiro. Nothing more. If you want to say "Hits at the highest professional level available to him at the time leader", while it doesn't roll off the tongue quite as fluidly, it is more correct to say.

[packs]

In Japan they used to have a rule that said you needed to play 9 seasons in NPB before you could become a free agent. There were 2 people who skirted the rule using the same agent and loophole to get out of their 9 year commitments: Hideo Nomo and Alfonso Soriano. Now they've refined the process to include the posting system, but even Darvish had to put in 7 seasons before he could get out.

[FourStrikes]

six to go.

[mickey7mantle7]

1st Ballot Hall of Famer!