Watch: Ichiro passes Ty Cobb in career hits (Japan, MLB)
Marlins outfielder Ichiro Suzuki passed Ty Cobb in career hits Saturday with a first-inning single.
Ichiro lined one to right field off Cardinals pitcher John Lackey for hit No. 4,192, combined between Japan and Major League Baseball, after which he received a standing ovation from the Busch Stadium crowd. He added another single later in the game to make it 4,193.
Counting his totals from both leagues, Ichiro holds the second-most hits of all time, trailing only Pete Rose, with 4,256 hits. Ichiro accumulated 1,278 hits in Japan and has added 2,914 since beginning his career with the Seattle Mariners in 2001.
In his first season in the majors, Ichiro won MVP, batting .350 with 242 hits. In 2004, arguably his best year, he hit .372 with 262 hits. The 10-time All-Star has been on a terrific pace his entire career, finishing with 206 or more hits in every one of his first 10 seasons.
Last off-season, Ichiro signed a one-year, $2 million contract with Miami. He's hit .253 with a .310 on-base percentage in 109 games for the last-place Marlins.
- Jeremy Woo and Rohan Nadkarni
