Miami Marlins center fielder Ichiro Suzuki became the 30th member of Major League Baseball's exclusive 3,000-hit club on Sunday after ripping a triple in the seventh inning against the Colorado Rockies in Denver.
Suzuki deposited an offering from Rockies reliever Chris Rusin high off the right field wall. The 42-year-old Ichiro tied Roberto Clemente for 29th place on baseball's all-time hit list.
He beat out an infield single for hit 2,999 on Saturday against the Rockies. That hit came after a stretch that saw Suzuki, mostly used as a pinch hitter these days by the Marlins, go hitless in 11 at-bats over seven games since reaching 2,998 hits on July 28.
That hit came after a stretch that saw Suzuki, mostly used as a pinch hitter these days by the Marlins, go hitless in 11 at-bats over seven games since reaching 2,998 hits on July 28.
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No description foundIchiro waits for a pitch against the Oakland Athletics on April 4, 2001 at Safeco Field in Seattle during his first season in the MLB. In 2001, he became the first Japanese-born position player to play in the majors; joined Fred Lynn (1975) as theIchiro and Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hold their Most Votes trophies for the 2001 All-Star Game. In his rookie season, Ichiro led the MLB with 3.373 million votes. He was the sixth rookie ever voted to start an All-Star Game (theA fan shows her support for Ichiro before a game against the New York Yankees May 8, 2004 in Seattle. Ichiro won the American League batting title in 2004 with a .372 batting average. He established the all-time MLB single-season hit record withIchiro collects hit No. 1,000 on June 14, 2005 at Safeco Field in Seattle against the Philadelphia Phillies. It was a good year for Ichiro: He recorded his fifth consecutive 200-hit season, becoming the sixth player in MLB history to record fiveIchiro Team Japan is congratulated by teammate Hitoshi Tamura after hitting a lead-off solo home run against Team USA during the World Baseball Classic in 2006. He helped lead Japan to back-to-back World Baseball Classic titles in 2006 and 2009.Ichiro celebrates with teammate Ivan Rodriguez of the Detroit Tigers after his inside-the-park home run in the fifth inning of the All-Star Game in 2007 in San Francisco. Ichiro was named the MVP of the game after going 3-for-3. His inside-the-Ichiro is mobbed by teammates after hitting a game winning two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat the New York Yankees 3-2 on Sept. 18, 2009 in Seattle. Ichiro went on the disabled list from March 31-April 15 with severe fatigueIchiro singles to the outfield against the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 19, 2012 in Phoenix to earn his 2,500 hit. He was traded to the New York Yankees about one month later in exchange for pitchers D.J. Mitchell and Danny Farquhar. Despite beingIchiro runs the bases against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium. After his trade to the Yankees, Ichiro hit safely in each of his first 12 games, the longest hitting streak by a Yankee acquired during the season and tying Don Slaught (1988)Ichiro runs to third in the ninth inning against the Boston Red Sox on Sept. 27, 2014 in Boston. Ichiro had 2,696 career Major League hits through his 2,000th game. According to Elias Sports Bureau, the only players since 1900 who collected moreIchiro signed as a free agent with the Miami Marlins in 2015. Here he stretches out for a fly ball hit by Wilson Ramos of the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on Aug. 29, 2015.Ichiro rears back for a pitch in the eighth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies on Oct. 4, 2015. This was his first career pitching appearance; only two other players have pitched in an MLB game after producing as many career MLB hits as
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The most recent player to join the 3,000 hit club was Alex Rodriguez with a homer on June 19, 2015. Rodriguez announced his intention to retire on Sunday.
Ichiro, 42, also collected 1,278 hits in his native Japan, playing for the Orix Blue Wave of the Nippon Professional Baseball league between 1992 and 2000.
Combining his Japanese and MLB numbers gives him 4,278 hits for his entire baseball career.
There was a mini-controversy after Ichiro collected his 4,257th career hit last month, surpassing Pete Rose's MLB record of 4,256. Some critics, including Rose himself, questioned whether Ichiro's hits in Japan should count toward breaking Rose's record.
Rose told the USA Today at that time, "I'm not trying to take anything away from Ichiro, he's had a Hall of Fame career, but the next thing you know you’ll be counting his high school hits."
Ichiro began his MLB career in 2000 with the Seattle Mariners, and also played for the New York Yankees between 2012 and 2014 before signing with the Marlins in 2015.