Ichiro Appreciation

Ichiro is the greatest hitter of all time. Yeah, you read that right. Not only did I say it but I truly believe it. He kind of flies under the radar a bit because he plays in Seattle and he doesn't hit home runs. I don't think most people have taken the time to soak in what he's accomplished in his first eight years in the majors.

Eight 200 hit seasons

.330 career batting average

Averages 40 stolen bases per season

Has played all but 16 games in his career

Eight Gold Gloves

2001 AL MVP

2001 AL ROY

Ichiro is 35 years old and on pace to have 3,000 hits by the time he's 40 years old in 2014. If you add in his 1,278 hits he amassed in Japan, that would put him ahead of Pete Rose in all-time hits. OK, I know that we're not going to count those hits but it's an interesting thing to think about.

The thing that amazes me about Ichiro is that his production hasn't slowed a bit. He played all 162 games last season and batted .310 with 42 stolen bases. That's a heck of a season for a 34 year old player in his 17th year of professional baseball. He's off to a good start this year as well with a .315 batting average.

I think the statistic that cannot be ignored are the 200 hit seasons. He has eight in eight seasons. This is an incredible accomplishment. Consider that Pete Rose is the all-time leader with ten in twenty four seasons.

Collectors may want to think about picking up a rookie card or two of this great hitter and putting them away.