Ichiro Suzuki ties Babe Ruth on all-time hits list
On the surface, Miami Marlins outfielder Ichiro Suzuki and legendary New York Yankees slugger Babe Ruth don’t seem to have much in common.
Ruth was arguably baseball’s first power hitter, a man who led the league in home runs in 12 different seasons. Ichiro, on the other hand, has never really been considered a power hitter. He’s relied more on a contact-heavy approach, leading the league in hits seven times.
Despite the difference in approaches, the two managed to cross paths Monday. With his two hits, Ichiro tied Ruth on the all-time hits list. Both players are currently tied for 42nd all-time with 2,873 hits.
Ichiro reached the milestone during the fifth inning of Monday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. After singling in the third inning, Ichiro stepped to the plate in the fifth looking to tie Ruth.
On the second pitch of the at-bat, Ichiro took an 89 mph fastball from Rubby De La Rosa and sent it into left field for a single.
Ichiro said he wasn’t thinking about the milestone during the contest, but he did offer up some thoughts after the game, according to Steve Wilaj of MLB.com.
“Obviously, when you think of Babe Ruth, he’s a home run hitter,” he said. “I never seen him play, and don’t know too much about him. For me, I’m just such a different type of player. I like to get hits and use my legs to get different types of hits and obviously he’s hitting home runs.
“So you can’t really compare. Obviously, we happen to be on the same number [of hits] right now, but it’s tough to compare the two because we’re such different types of players.”
Ichiro is just three hits away from tying Mel Ott for 41st on the all-time list. Given his diminished role over the past few years, Ichiro hasn’t topped 200 hits in a single season since 2010.
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He’s remained productive, however, and could have a legitimate shot a 3,000 hits depending on how long he wants to stick around. That’s one hell of an accomplishment for a player whose major-league career didn’t start until he was 27.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
