51 interesting stats about Ichiro

51 interesting stats about Ichiro

August 22nd, 2022
  1. Ichiro tallied 4,367 hits in his professional career, the most of any player in baseball history. He tallied 3,089 hits in Major League Baseball and 1,278 hits in Nippon Professional Baseball.
  1. Ichiro set the single-season record for most hits (262) in a season in 2004, breaking Hall of Famer George Sisler’s 84-year-old record for most hits (257).
  1. Ichiro tallied 242 hits as a rookie in 2001, breaking Hall of Famer Lloyd Waner’s rookie record for hits (223) set back in 1927.
  1. In Ichiro’s first career game (April 2, 2001) and his final career game (March 21, 2019), the Mariners defeated the Athletics by a 5–4 score.
  1. Ichiro tallied 3,089 hits in the Majors, despite not making his debut until age 27 after a 9-year career in Japan.
  1. Ichiro hit an inside-the-park home run in the 2007 MLB All-Star Game -- the only inside-the-parker in Midsummer Classic history, which earned him the 2007 MLB All-Star Game MVP.
  1. Ichiro collected his 3,000th MLB hit with a triple on Aug. 7, 2000, joining Hall of Famer Paul Molitor as the only players to triple for their 3,000th career hit.
  1. Ichiro is 1 of 7 MLB players in the 3,000-hit and 500-stolen-base clubs, along with Hall of Famers Ty Cobb, Eddie Collins, Honus Wagner, Lou Brock, Rickey Henderson & Paul Molitor.
  1. Ichiro singled in the first at-bat of his third career MLB game on April 4, 2001, lifting his career batting average to .300 (3-for-10). From there, his career average never dipped below the .300 mark until its completion 2,650 games later.
  1. Ichiro was awarded the 2001 American League Rookie of the Year Award, becoming the third player in club history (Alvin Davis, 1984; and Kazuhiro Sasaki, 2000) to win the award. Kyle Lewis (2020) became the fourth Mariners player to win the award.
  1. Ichiro won the 2001 American League Most Valuable Player Award, joining Fred Lynn (1975 Red Sox) as the only rookies to win. Ichiro is the only first-year player to win an MVP.
  1. Ichiro registered 10 consecutive 200+ hit seasons from 2001–10, the only player in MLB history to do so. Pete Rose is the only other player to register 10 seasons of 200+ hits in a career.
  1. Ichiro won a Gold Glove Award in each of his first 10 seasons, joining Hall of Fame Reds catcher Johnny Bench (1968–77) as the only players to do so.
  1. If Ichiro came out of retirement, he would have to go hitless in 444 consecutive at-bats for his career batting average to dip below .300.
  1. Ichiro tallied an estimated 694 infield hits in his career.
  1. Since 1990, Ichiro owns 3 of the top 4 seasons for most hits -- registering 262 in 2004, 242 in '01 and 238 in '07.
  1. Ichiro batted .372 in his record-breaking, 262-hit season in 2004. No qualified batter has hit .372 or better since then, with Joe Mauer (.365 in 2009) coming closest.
  1. “The Throw,” one of Ichiro’s signature moments in his Major League career -- when he threw out Oakland’s Terrence Long sliding into third base -- occurred in just his eighth career game.
  1. Ichiro represented Japan at the World Baseball Classic in 2006 and '09, leading the team to tournament wins both times. He went a combined 6-for-10 in championship games.
  1. On April 2, 2011, Ichiro tallied his 2,248th hit in a Mariners uniform, surpassing Edgar Martinez for most in club history.
  1. Ichiro had at least 10 stolen bases in each of his first 16 seasons, which made him just one of 11 players in MLB history to do that.
  1. Ichiro’s career .311 batting average leads all Major League players who accrued at least 5,000 plate appearances and debuted since 2000.
  1. Of the 20 players with at least 500 stolen bases since 1950, Ichiro’s 81.3 percent success rate ranks fourth -- trailing only Tim Raines, Willie Wilson & Davey Lopes.
  1. Ichiro had hits against every MLB team, but his most (320) came against the A’s. He also got more hits at Oakland (168) than at any other ballpark that he never called home.
  1. Ichiro actually hit better against lefties (.329) than righties (.304). That batting average versus southpaws is the highest on record for a lefty batter (split data is complete going back to 1974).
  1. Ichiro and Class of 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Buck O’Neil developed a relationship, with Ichiro sending flowers to the O’Neil family when Buck passed away in 2006.
  1. In 2016, Ichiro made the largest-ever donation to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum by an active player.
  1. Ichiro made his professional debut at the age of 18 in 1992 for the Orix Blue Wave. Hall of Famers Carlton Fisk and Nolan Ryan (both born in 1947) were still active in the Majors that season.
  1. Ichiro appeared in his final pair of games with Seattle in 2019. All-Stars Ronald Acuña Jr. (born in 1997) and Juan Soto (1998) both finished top 10 in National League MVP voting that season.
  1. Ichiro didn’t record his first MLB hit until he was 27 years old. That is by far the oldest for a first hit among 3,000-hit club members, passing Wade Boggs (23 years, 315 days old).
  1. Ichiro was traded from the Mariners to the New York Yankees on July 23, 2012. He wore No. 31 for the Yankees because No. 51 had been worn by Bernie Williams, whose number was retired in 2015.
  1. Ichiro hit 117 home runs in his Major League career, the same exact number of home runs as fellow 3,000-hit club members Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker.
  1. Ichiro never struck out four times in a game in 2,653 career Major League games. He struck out 3 times in a game on just 22 occasions (less than 1 percent of his games).
  1. Ichiro collected seven 20+ game hitting streaks during his career, including a career-high 27-game hitting streak from May 6-June 3, 2009. He hit .398 (47-for-118) during the streak.
  1. Ichiro was born on October 22, 1973, in Nichi Kasugai-gun, Japan. He shares a birthday with Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx (born 1907) and Robinson Canó (1982).
  1. Ichiro is one of eight members of the 3,000-hit club to also pitch in a Major League game, along with Cap Anson, Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Stan Musial, Wade Boggs & Albert Pujols.
  1. Ichiro led the Major Leagues in hits 7 times. That is tied for most ever with Ty Cobb and Pete Rose, ranking ahead of Tony Gwynn (6 times) and Stan Musial (5 times).
  1. Ichiro played his final career game at the age of 45. He is the second-oldest player since 1901 to play his final game for the team he debuted with, trailing only Hall of Famer Phil Niekro (appeared at age 48 with the Braves).
  1. In 2017, Ichiro started in the leadoff spot for the final time of his career at the age of 43 with Miami. He was the third-oldest leadoff hitter in MLB history, trailing only Hall of Famers Sam Rice & Ricky Henderson (both age 44).
  1. Since 1947, Ichiro is one of six players with 10+ stolen bases in each of their first 15 seasons, along with Bert Campaneris, César Cedeño, Ozzie Smith, Rickey Henderson & Barry Bonds.
  1. Ichiro and Hall of Famer Tony Oliva (1964) are the only rookies since 1901 to win a batting title. Ichiro hit .350 (242-for-692) during his rookie season in 2001.
  1. Ichiro hit a walk-off home run off Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera on Sept. 18, 2009. Rivera only allowed five walk-off homers in 1,115 regular-season appearances.
  1. On Oct. 4, 2015, while with the Miami Marlins, Ichiro made his first career pitching appearance in a game against the Phillies.
  1. Ichiro and Mariners center fielder Julio Rodríguez are the two most recent American League players with 50+ hits and 15+ stolen bases over their first 50 career games.
  1. Ichiro was intentionally walked 181 times in his career and led the league three times. That’s 84 more intentional walks than Alex Rodriguez had in his career.
  1. On April 15, 2009, Mariners franchise greats Ichiro & Ken Griffey Jr. played their first game together as teammates. Both hit significant home runs: Griffey Jr. hit his 400th homer in a Mariners uniform, while Ichiro hit a grand slam in the 11–3 Seattle win.
  1. Among the Mariners all-time leaders, Ichiro ranks first in hits (2,542), batting average (.321), at-bats (7,907), triples (79) and stolen bases (438), while also ranking second in games (1,861) and runs scored (3,292).
  1. Ichiro also ranks third in Mariners history in total bases (3,292), fourth in doubles (295), 5th in extra-base hits (473) and 6th in RBI (633) and walks (517).
  1. Ichiro currently serves as Special Assistant to the Chairman for the Mariners, which includes focusing on outfield play, baserunning and hitting with the Major League coaching staff and players.
  1. Ichiro will be the 10th member inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame on August 27. He will join Alvin Davis, Jay Buhner, Edgar Martinez, Randy Johnson, Dan Wilson, Ken Griffey Jr., Jamie Moyer, manager Lou Piniella and broadcaster Dave Niehaus.
  1. Ichiro will first be eligible for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 2025. He would become the first Japanese-born MLB player to be inducted.