Ichiro Suzuki: Chance for 3000 Hits?

Ichiro Suzuki hitting his fifth homer of the 2009 season yesterday.

Ichiro Suzuki is on track for another 200-hit season. Suzuki started the 2009 season on the disabled list and has missed eight games. However, he still has maintained the 34 hits a month pace needed to finish with 200 hits in 2009.

His four hit game yesterday gives him 68 hits at the end of May. He will match Ty Cobb if he can post his ninth 200 hits season this year but it took Cobb 18 seasons to accomplish the feat.

Pete Rose had 200 hits 10 times in his career and had 198 in two other seasons. He didn’t have his ninth 200-hit season until his 15th season.

The game yesterday also extended his hitting streak to 24 games. Ichiro has failed to get a hit in only four games this season in 43 games played. He failed to get a hit on Apr. 28 but since then only failed to get a hit on May 5 and now it is June 1.

His .484 slugging percentage is 98 points higher than his .386 slugging percentage of 2008.

If he can maintain his 34-hits-a-month pace he will reach the 2000-hit plateau in September. He would also have 200 hits for the ninth consecutive season.

Ichiro homered every 114.3 times at-bat in 2008 but is homering every 38.4 times at-bat in 2009.

He has not been nearly as successful stealing bases this season having been caught four times while stealing eight bases. Last season, he was caught four times while stealing 43 bases.

No player today probably has hit into fewer double plays during their career than Ichiro. He has hit into only one double play this season and has never hit into more than eight double plays in a season.

When adding his Japanese stats he has 3,151 hits as of today. He won’t be 36 until Oct. 22, so if he plays five more seasons and continues to get 200 hits each season he would register his 3000th American hit in 2014 at the age of 40.

There is a chance he could even better the mark of  Rose for career hits who has 4256 lifetime hits.

He never played in a MLB game till the age of 27 making any feats he accomplishes even more remarkable.

3000 Hit Facts: 27 players are in the 3000 hit club. Only two of those players hit a triple or home run for the 3000th hit. Paul Molitor is the only player to triple for his 3000th hit while Wade Boggs homered for his 3000th hit.

Some of the great players who missed reaching 3000 hits by less than 100 hits and hits they needed to reach the 3000-hit plateau:

Sam Rice – 13 hits

Sam Crawford – 39 hits

Frank Robinson – 57 hits

Barry Bonds – 65 hits

Roger Hornsby – 70 hits

Al Simmons – 73 hits

The players mentioned are in the Hall of Fame with the exception of Barry Bonds who may never enter the Hall of Fame because of steroids issues.