Ichiro Suzuki ties Ty Cobb with 4,191 hits in professional career

Though not the hitter he once was, Miami Marlins outfielder Ichiro Suzuki is still reaching milestones in his Hall of Fame worthy career. 

On Friday night in St. Louis, Ichiro equaled the legendary Ty Cobb with his 4,191st professional hit, which encompasses his time in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top league in Japan, and Major League Baseball.

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The hit itself was classic Ichiro. Batting against left-hander Jaime Garica, he calmly slapped a pitch into left for a clean single. It’s a swing and a result we’ve seen countless times from one of baseball’s all-time great handlers of the bat. This time, though, it’s the number that’s most significant as Cobb’s hit total ranks second all-time in MLB behind only Pete Rose, who finished his career with 4,256 hits.

Of course, one can debate the merits of competition, but that’s really a moot point. If Ichiro were to surpass Rose, it would not be recognized as an official record. It would just be a matter of recognizing Ichiro’s career and his undeniable greatness. He’s definitely due that much regardless. 

With that said though, Rose’s mark is certainly attainable for Ichiro. He’s just 65 hits away. During his prime seasons, you could almost bank on him reaching the number before this season ended. In four different months during his career, he’s recorded at least 50 hits, which shows how quickly he could rack them up. 

As a part-time player for Miami this season though, the 41-year-old Suzuki has just 69 hits in 109 games.

Another milestone off in the distance for Ichiro is 3,000 hits in MLB. For his career, he now has 1,278 career hits in NBP and 2,913 in MLB. With a good finish to the season, he could put a significant dent in that number before deciding on his future in MLB.

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Ichiro is only under contract with Miami through the 2015 season, so a decision is definitely looming. There was talk last winter of a possible return to Japan to finish his career. That option will likely be on the table again, but it would definitely be fun to see Ichiro stick around one more season and make a run at one or both marks. 

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813