Pete Rose: They are trying to make me the ‘hit queen’

At 42 years old, Ichiro Suzuki is closing in on 3,000 hits since he came over from Japan to play in the major leagues. If you combine the hits he’s compiled in Japan and MLB, Ichiro is just one shy of tying Pete Rose’s of 4,256 hits. Whether Ichiro’s hit total from both leagues should be added together has been a hot topic of late, and Rose has weighed in with his thoughts.

Pete Rose is, famously, the all-time hit leader in Major League Baseball, having amassed his total over 24 seasons. Aside from being banned for betting baseball, his hits record what Rose is known for, so it can’t be seen as surprising he thinks the two amounts should be kept separate.

“It sounds like in Japan, they’re trying to make me the Hit Queen,” Rose told Bob Nightengale of 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.

“I don’t think you’re going to find anybody with credibility say that Japanese baseball is equivalent to major-league baseball,” Rose continued. “There are too many guys that fail here, and then become household names there, like Tuffy Rhodes. How can he not do anything here, and hit (a record-tying) 55 home runs (in 2001) over there?”

Tuffy Rhodes spent six years in the majors, posting a .224 career batting average. The most home runs he hit in a season was eight in 95 games in 1994. After that, Rhodes went over to Japan and hit 464 home runs in 13 seasons, including single-season totals of 40, 55, 46, 51, 45, 42, and 40.

While it may appear Rose is being protective of his record, he’s not the only one who feels that way about Ichiro’s two hit totals. ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian is among those who feels the hits Ichiro has recorded in both Japan and MLB should be kept separate.

There is something to be said for the difference in level of competition in the two leagues, and it’s an important item to note. Considering Ichiro has averaged 186 hits per season in the majors, there will be some who would say had he played the first nine seasons of his career here (and done that) he would be over 4,600 hits now, way beyond Rose.

No matter how you slice it, Rose will always be considered the “Hit King” of baseball. However, that does not diminish what Ichiro has done over his exceptional career. He’s a surefire Hall of Famer and will go down in his own right as one of the greatest hitters the sport has ever seen, as he should.