Honestly, Packs? Anybody placing Japanese league and MLB hits on the same level certainly should be thinking about that disparity. They may both represent the top professional baseball leagues in their respective countries, but they're just not the same. Maybe not quite apples and oranges, but different fruits, certainly.
Don't get me wrong. I really like Ichiro. If I built a team, would I put him on it? Oh, hell yes. The guy is a fantastic pure hitter, and one of the best outfielders I've ever seen. He reminds me a lot of Clemente in right. Great range, great instincts, and at least for the first ten years of his career here, maybe longer, he had an absolute cannon. I haven't seen him as much the last few years, so I can't comment on his arm strength now. But it was, and may still be, elite.
And, I certainly respect the man, and his remarkable work ethic. He plays every game hard. That's the kind of quite, dignified leader you want on a team. Rah rah guys are fine sometimes, especially when a club house is down, and needs a boost. But leading by example has always earned my respect.
But this whole "Ichiro passes Rose" narrative is really irritating to me. Rose may be a pariah within MLB circles now, and a complete tool in real life. And, it's a real shame that the man off the field isn't nearly as great as he was on it. But the man faced the best competition in the world for every one of those hits, and I think it cheapens his record to say that Ichiro somehow "passed" him on the all-time hits list, even if it's made clear that it's some "professional baseball record", and not an MLB only record.
Until somebody passes Rose on the all-time hit list by hits clawed out in the Major League teams only, like him or not, Rose is the all-time hit king. We can all play the "what if Ichiro started here, and had those extra nine seasons" game, and it would make for some fun projecting (especially to a stat nerd like me). But that would be nothing but conjecture.
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Originally Posted by packs
Is anyone challenging the disparity between the leagues?
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Last edited by the 'stache; 06-21-2016 at 12:22 AM.
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