FACTBOX-Baseball-Miami Marlins outfielder Ichiro Suzuki

08/07/2016 18:47

Aug 7 (Reuters) - Japanese outfielder Ichiro Suzuki became the 30th member of Major League Baseball's exclusive 3,000-hits club on Sunday.

* Considered the greatest hitter in Japanese baseball history, Ichiro dominated the game in his homeland for nearly nine years during which he was a seven-times Pacific League batting champion and racked up 1,278 hits.

* Became the first Japanese position player, or non-pitcher, to be signed by a U.S. team when he joined the Seattle Mariners in 2001 and became only the second player to win Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards in the same season.

* Eclipsed an 84-year-old record for hits in a season when he finished the 2004 campaign with 262 hits, five more than the previous mark set by George Sisler in 1920.

* Reached 200-plus hits for a record 10th consecutive year in the 2010 season. He fell 16 hits shy of extending his streak the following campaign.

* Stole 45 consecutive bases without getting caught over the course of the 2006 and 2007 season, an American League record and five short of the all-time mark set by Vince Coleman.

* Is a two-time batting champion, 10-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove winner during an MLB career that has included stints with Seattle, the New York Yankees and Miami.

* His combined Japanese and North American total of 4,278 hits tops Pete Rose's all-time record of 4,256 but does not carry the same weight since the latter's came entirely while playing in MLB. (Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)

08/07/2016 18:47