When Ichiro Suzuki first came to America, some doubted that the baseball player could hit the big leaguers’ pitches. Fifteen years later, Suzuki has smashed those doubts in a record-breaking manner: He is now the 30th Major League Baseball player to reach 3,000 career hits, making him the first player of Asian descent to reach this milestone. The Miami Marlins outfielder made the hit in the seventh inning of Sunday’s game against the Colorado Rockies.
Throughout the summer, baseball fans knew that the milestone was in reach — Suzuki had his 2,998th hit on July 8. However, after that day’s game, Suzuki went hitless for seven straight games before finally hitting 2,999 on Saturday. Suzuki's 3,000th was a triple, making him only one of two players whose 3000th hit was also a triple.
Suzuki, who currently is in his 16th season playing Major League Baseball, has actually had 4,278 professional hits throughout his career. However, 1,278 hits happened during his nine-year Japanese baseball career and aren’t counted within MLB records.
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Suzuki, who went from Japan to Seattle in 2001, played with the Seattle Mariners from the beginning of his career until 2012, when he was traded New York Yankees. He played with the Yankees for two years before joining his current team, the Miami Marlins.
Earlier in the year, Suzuki reached another milestone by stealing his 500th base on April 29.
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