Ichiro closes in on 3,000th hit; Matsuzaka, Kuroda take losses

Tuesday 29th July, 04:52 PM JST

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8 Comments

apecNetworks at 06:53 PM JST - 29th July

Geeeee whiz, can Ichiro play baseball or what?
some14some at 07:34 PM JST - 29th July

Geeeee whiz, can Ichiro play baseball or what?

Ofcourse he can reach 1st base and this is how he has collected 2,999 hits Should other MLB players follow him, they will gather atleast double of that.
timorborder at 09:31 PM JST - 29th July

Although somewhat self-centered, Ihiro is by far the best export to the MLB from Japan. Considering the number of hits he has, his All-Star honors (includng that inside the park homerun), his breaking of records, etc. After he finally hangs 'em, I think he is a pretty good bet to get the call from Cooperstown.
romulus3 at 10:34 PM JST - 29th July

some14some, its his job to get to first base. why the derogatory comment? because he is Japanese? He is a fine athlete.
pathat at 10:39 PM JST - 29th July

timorborder: Ichiro will definitely be Cooperstown-bound after he hangs up his spikes. His all-around skills translate to being one of the best at any level of baseball-AAAA Japan, or MLB.

If were going to play the combined stats game, I hope NPB will remember to combine Tuffy Rhodes HR and hits totals if he reaches a combined 500 HRs and 2000 career hits. Its a ways off to be sure: a combined 441 HRs and 1786 hits at present. He will be 40 in August, but Id love to see him play two more seasons and get the 500 and/or 2000 and qualify for the Meikyukai.

Alex Cabrera needs only 1 more HR to reach 300 for his career-294 in Japan and 5 in MLB.
some14some at 11:27 PM JST - 29th July

why the derogatory comment? because he is Japanese? He is a fine athlete.

I am of the opinion that that he is not....Just imagine of a foreign player in japanese NPB with same record like Ichiro...forget about what credit he will get, just think how long NPB will tolerate such a foreign player.
romulus3 at 12:38 AM JST - 30th July

some14some,

so in the home off baseball, why does he have so many fans and how has he lasted so long? US ball is twice as hard as J-ball, and twice as big like other things.
westurn at 10:03 PM JST - 30th July

Romulus3 wrote: "He is a fine athlete."

yes he is, but he isn't a "winner" ! And in the USA there are thousands of "fine athletes" but it takes character and determination to become a champion... Ichiro has neither. His way to the US was paved by Nomo. And once he got to the US he has done damn little to make his team a contender. Instead all we hear is how arrogant and fan "unfriendly" he is. That being the case I say send him back to Nippon Pro Yakyu and give his position to some American kid who may have less talent but will at least demonstrate better character, determination, and friendlyness ! Ichiro is just a sour puss !