Seattle's Ichiro sets record with ninth straight 200-hit season

This might go unnoticed, but his guy is just a firecracker......

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Soaked in beer, Ichiro Suzuki (FSY) smiled after a long day.

After he reached 200 hits for the ninth straight season during the second game of a doubleheader, Ken Griffey Jr. picked up his slight teammate, slung him over his shoulder and carried him to the showers, where teammates awaited with a beer bath.

"To get to enjoy this with these teammates I have, and especially that guy over there makes me very joyful," Ichiro said.

Ichiro beat out an infield single to become the first player in major league history with at least 200 in nine straight seasons as the Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 5-0 to split a doubleheader after losing the opener 7-2.

In his second at-bat of the nightcap, Suzuki hit a slow roller to shortstop Elvis Andrus (FSY), beating the throw for No. 200 and driving in a run for a 2-0 lead.

Suzuki, who went 1 for 5 in the second game, received a standing ovation from the sparse crowd, stepping off first base and doffing his batting helmet to thank the fans.

He had been tied with Willie Keeler, who had eight consecutive 200-hit seasons from 1894-1901.

"It's always good to see history," Griffey said. "(The beer shower) was a little cold for him."

In the opener, Suzuki doubled in four at-bats, but the Mariners lost for the sixth time in seven games.

The mood in the Mariners' clubhouse was lighter after the nightcap.

"To see a 108-year-old record broken is pretty special," Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said.


full article: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2009-09-13-rangers-mariners_N.htm

Way to go, Ichiro!

"51" in homage to Ichiro.

...especially when they play the Rangers at the end of the season!

the best contact hitter we will ever see. He not only now holds this record, but in 2004 he broke the record for hits in a season when he collected an incredible 262, in that same year he hit .372. Never once has he hit below .300, and has a career BA of .333.

Yet still he toils in relative obscurity in Seattle. One can only wonder how his achievements would be celebrated, were he playing in NY or Boston, or any of the other markets that are darlings of the sports media.

whose team has not done jackshit in the playoffs? Or rarely even made the playoffs while he was setting all his records?

Just asking..........

I live in Seattle, and I don't care for Ichiro. While he is pursuing his gloire, the team has done zilch. He's been here for years, rarely talks to the press, pretends he can't speak English, only goes through a translator, and is rarely, if EVER, seen out and about doing things in Seattle - even though, when he first came here, many local watering holes and other places were excited and did things like invent drinks called the Ichitini.


Not. A. Fan.