Pete Rose: Ex-Yankee Ichiro won’t be the next Hit King

“I can not believe it’s not a bigger deal in Major League Baseball”, Arizona Diamondbacks assistant hitting coach Mark Grace, who had 2,445 career hits, told USA TODAY Sports.

In his major-league career, Ichiro has collected 2,977 hits.

Rose told USA Today, “I’m not trying to take anything away from Ichiro, he’s had a Hall of Fame career, but the next thing you know, they’ll be counting his high school hits”, he continued, “I don’t think you’re going to find anybody with credibility say that Japanese baseball is equivalent to Major League Baseball”. Rose told USA Today Sports, “I’m not trying to take anything away from Ichiro”. Ichiro has 4255 between his time in the Japanese League and the Major Leagues. There are too many guys that fail here, and then become household names there, like Tuffy Rhodes.

Suzuki stands just one hit behind Rose’s major-league record of 4,256 hits, a pursuit of history that is being followed avidly in his native Japan.

Regardless of the numerous opinions floating around the combined hits record, no one can argue that Ichiro has been timeless this season, a nostalgic return to some of his stellar years as a Mariner.

Ike Davis joins the Yankees after signing with NY on Monday and is set to become the team’s seventh first baseman this season whenever he makes his debut.

Although there has been public focus on Ichiro’s pursuit of the 3,000-hit Major League Baseball milestone in the United States, there really hasn’t been much talk of his passing the overall record. Now hitting.350 this season and potentially on his way to his first All-Star Game since 2010, the 42-year-old is the Marlins’ best hitter so far this season.

While baseball lovers in Japan have made Ichiro’s march towards Rose’s hit record a big deal, so much so that a national broadcasting network is covering all Marlins games now, in America it’s far less relevant of a sports storyline. Before that he accumulated 1,278 in the Nippon Professional Baseball League in Japan.

Suzuki had three hits Monday night to raise his all-time total to 4,255, one fewer than Rose’s 4,256. “That’s huge. I’m in awe of the guy”.

For the people that want to count Ichiro’s Japan hits in his stats, then why not count Sadaharu Oh’s 868 Home Runs? He has 4,255 hits between his time playing in Japan and in Major League Baseball. “It’s really cool to be a part of this and what he has done this year”, Miami manager Don Mattingly said. We play more games here. “Shame on us for not making a bigger deal out of it”, Grace says. To be quite honest, I’m just going out and doing what I do.

-The Chicago Cubs signed left-hander Brian Matusz to a minor-league deal.

“What I care about is my teammates and people close to me celebrating it together, that’s what’s most important to me”. He also won seven batting titles in Japan.