Expected to be the first Japanese player elected to the Cooperstown on Tuesday, Ichiro is a wellspring of national pride and his fame across the Pacific when he joined MLB was therapeutic for his

Ichiro Suzuki is expected to be the first Japanese player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and possibly only the second player chosen unanimously after New York

Pete Rose still holds the MLB record for career hits with 4,256, but Ichiro would be the hit king if you count the 1,278 hits he had in Japan. Ichiro reached 4,257 combined hits on June 15, 2016, with the Marlins, hitting a double off the San Diego Padres’ Fernando Rodney (remember him, Mariners fans?). Ichiro finished with 4,367 combined hits.

Ichiro Suzuki is all about baseball, but he is much more than that at home in Japan. Ichiro is a wellspring of national pride — like Shohei Ohtani now —