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

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 debuted in Major League Baseball in 2001 with the Seattle Mariners, the first Japanese position player to span the Pacific and an instant star. Right-handed pitcher Hideo N