MIAMI -- Passing Rickey Henderson in any career statistical category is a difficult accomplishment, but Ichiro Suzuki was able to do so on Tuesday night in the Marlins' 5-2 loss to the Phillies at Marlins Park.
With his pinch-hit single in the eighth inning off Joaquin Benoit, Ichiro passed Henderson into sole possession of 23rd place on Major League Baseball's all-time hits list.
Ichiro now has 3,056 hits, one ahead of Henderson, who is widely regarded as the greatest leadoff hitter in the history of the sport.
"He just keeps passing them," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. "Every day he gets a hit, it seems like he's passing someone. Obviously, Ich is great."
Ichiro, 43, broke into the big leagues with the Mariners in 2001, and he has been one of the premier leadoff hitters of his generation. Counting his tenure in Japan (1,278 hits), Ichiro has 4,334 combined professional hits. MLB doesn't recognize combined marks, however.
Along with his 3,056 big league hits, Ichiro also has 508 stolen bases. In that category, Henderson is the all-time leader with 1,406.
Ichiro keeps moving up the hits ladder, and he is closing in on Craig Biggio (3,060) for 22nd place, according to Elias.