Michael Rand interviews Pete Rose and winds up with a very productive discussion about Ichiro Suzuki and the all-time hit record:
But I had to ask him about Ichiro Suzuki. At the time of the interview, Ichiro had 4,252 hits combined in Japan and the Major Leagues — 1,278 in Japan, nearly 3,000 in the majors. He had three more last night, bringing him to 4,255 — one short of the total Rose put up entirely in the majors. Ichiro closing in on that hallowed number has created a lot of discussion about how we should treat his accomplishments in Japan. I asked Rose, “What do you think of that discussion?”
“Let me ask you this question,” he said from his home in Nevada. “When you take Ichiro’s Japanese hits into account, are those his professional hits?”
I answered yes.
“OK,” Rose, continued. “Then why aren’t you counting my professional hits in the minor leagues? I had close to 500 hits in the minor leagues. If you’re going to count his professional hits, count my professional hits.”
He wasn’t being particularly combative — just blunt, with a healthy dose of pride as well.
If only this discussion was that easy.
Instead, it’s fascinatingly layered — and it wraps around what I believe is one of the greatest “what-ifs” in baseball history.
Rose comes off as well informed and very appreciative of Ichiro’s career. Well worth the read.
from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/1S4zkFy
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