Fastball

Re-Living Future Hall of Famer Ichiro's Historic 3,000th Hit When He Played For Miami Marlins

Ichiro achieved the milestone back in 2016 as a member of the Fish.
Brady Farkas|
Miami Marlins pinch hitter Ichiro Suzuki (51) bats into an out in the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in 2017.
Miami Marlins pinch hitter Ichiro Suzuki (51) bats into an out in the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in 2017. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

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Miami MarlinsSeattle Mariners

Tuesday night is going to be a special one for Ichiro Suzuki, as he's set to get elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

As of this posting, Ichiro is on 100 percent of ballots (187/187) and he could end up being the second player to get into the Hall of Fame unanimously, joining Mariano Rivera.

Ichiro is expected to be joined in Cooperstown by pitchers CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner.

While Ichiro is expected to enter the Hall of Fame as a member of the Seattle Mariners, it should not be forgotten that he also spent three years in Miami with the Marlins.

In fact, Ichiro picked up his 3,000th career hit (in the majors) with the Marlins back in 2016.

One of the best all-around players in baseball history, Ichiro spent 28 years as a professional player between the United States and Japan. Over nine seasons, Ichiro hit .353 in Japan, stealing 199 career bases and amassing 1,278 total hits.

He came to the United States in 2001 and promptly took the major leagues by storm, winning the Rookie of the Year and the American League MVP that season. He helped the Mariners win 116 games in 2001, an American League record. They advanced to the ALCS.

He was a two-time batting champion, a 10-time Gold Glover, a 10-time All-Star and a three-time Silver Slugger.

Ichiro played parts of 14 seasons with the Mariners, three with the Yankees and those three with the Marlins (2015-2017). Remarkably durable throughout his career, he never played less than 136 games in a season until age 44 (2017). He had more than 3,000 (3,089) hits in his United States career, giving him more than 4,360 total, which puts him past Pete Rose as the all-time hit king (4,256).

He hit just .229 for the Marlins in 2015, but rebounded to hit .291 in 2016 and .255 in 2017. He hit five homers as a member of the Marlins and stole 22 bases.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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