Here's another one I think is a real head scratcher. They have Ichiro at only #46!!!
I don't know how ESPN made their decisions and selections, but to me this is a real travesty. Especially if they are only going by his MLB record and stats. Because if so, Ichiro is being placed in a similar situation as to what was done to the Negro League players before it was recently decided to count those leagues as equivalent to the rest of MLB. And not unlike the Negro players, Japanese players apparently faced their own discrimination and bias from being allowed to play in the major leagues. Why else would it take all the way till 2001 for Ichiro to become the very first ever Japanese born person to be signed to a MLB contract and actually play as an everyday position player for a major league team? Or are you going to tell me in the long history of the Japanese leagues there wasn't at least one other person before Ichiro that had the talent and ability to be an everyday position player on a major league team?
When Ichiro finally signed with the Mariners in 2001, it was after he had already played nine years in the Nipon Professional Baseball league, Japan's top professional baseball league. And yes, you read that correctly, NINE YEARS more he could have possibly been adding to his major league stats, records, and legacy. As it was, his very first year in MLB he won the AL-ROY and the AL-MVP awards, and led the majors in steals to boot. He also was elected to the All-Star team his first 10 years in the majors, during which time he also won 10 consecutive Gold Glove awards, received MVP votes in 9 of those years, and even grabbed three Silver Slugger awards. He also set the record during this time as the only player in MLB history to have 200 or more hits in a season for 10 consecutive seasons, and even set the MLB record for most hits in a single season during this run. And again, this was ALL AFTER HE SPENT THE FIRST 9 YEARS OF HIS CAREER PLAYING BASEBALL IN JAPAN!!!! Really let that sink in for a couple minutes!
Had he been signed to a MLB contract early on, they probably wouldn't still be talking about Pete Rose as the all-time major league hits king. If you were to add in his Japanese league stats, like was done with the Negro League players, his numbers are even more mind boggling. The only possible knock against him was he didn't swing for the fences, but came up near the end of the steroid/PED era when the fans were so enamored of the big guys belting all the homers. Seeing Ichiro get hits like no one ever had before just didn't seem to create the same excitement and fervor as the big boppers. Also, playing the bulk of his MLB career in Seattle, especially during his best years, didn't help boost his fame and popularity with the fan base as much as it would have had he originally signed with a team like the Yankees, and spent his most productive years with them.
Still, only #46, really?!?!?!