It is a big story. They made a big deal when Matsui hit his 500th professional career home run too. But no one is saying Ichiro is the all time MLB hit leader just as no one claims Matsui has 500 MLB home runs. I don't understand what you're trying to take away from Ichiro. His combined totals cover two professional leagues, i.e. his career at the highest level of organized baseball in two countries. His hits in Japan came at the highest level. That's why people talk about them. His hits here come at the highest level. You can't fault a guy for being born in Japan and playing at the highest level available to him. Bringing up guys like Tuffy Rhodes to somehow say that Ichiro's previous successes weren't true successes is silly. Tuffy Rhodes couldn't hack it in MLB, Ichiro never had a chance to play in MLB until he'd already served his time in Japan. It's not the same thing.
|