Strike Zone podcast: Cardinals' Matt Carpenter; Ichiro for Hit King?

On this week's edition of The Strike Zone podcast, Ted Keith and Stephen Cannella chat with Matt Carpenter and discuss Ichiro's pursuit of Pete Rose.

On this week's edition of The Strike Zone podcast, Ted Keith and Stephen Cannella have a special guest joining them to talk all things NL Central: Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter. The two-time All-Star infielder calls in to discuss his team's season, why he's not worried about the Cubs' big lead in the division, how he predicted that Chicago ace and former college teammate Jake Arrieta was going to win a Cy Young, what his favorite position to play is, and where all his power suddenly came from.

After that, Ted and Steve turn their attention to the week's biggest news topic: Ichiro Suzuki's 4,257th career hit. The two debate whether or not Ichiro has truly passed Pete Rose to become baseball's Hit King, or if Rose is still the one to beat, and dive into the legitimacy of Ichiro's chase and put his career into perspective.

Want more top-notch baseball talk delivered straight to you every week? Then subscribe to The Strike Zone podcast on iTunes, Stitcher and Soundcloud. Have any questions, comments or thoughts on the show? Reach out to Ted, Steve or producer Jon Tayler on Twitter.

• THE STRIKE ZONE PODCAST: June 17, 2016

Check back on SI.com next week for another episode of The Strike Zone.