As Ichiro closes in, Pete Rose chafes: 'They're trying to make me the Hit Queen'

Fans in Japan are abuzz, about a dozen Japanese reporters are now following the Marlins and counting down to Rose. NHK, Japan’s national public broadcasting network, is broadcasting every game to chronicle one of the greatest achievements in Japanese sports history.

Yet, in this country, it barely is drawing even a whisper.

“I cannot believe it’s not a bigger deal in Major League Baseball,’’ Arizona Diamondbacks assistant hitting coach Mark Grace, who had 2,445 career hits, told USA TODAY Sports. “Shame on us for not making a bigger deal out of it.

“You’re talking about breaking Pete Rose’s record.I couldn’t care less if he got some of those hits in Japan or in Antarctica. You’re getting hits at high professional levels. That’s huge. I’m in awe of the guy.’’

The reality is that we will celebrate Suzuki’s 3,000th major-league hit, and barely even acknowledge the 4,257th that eclipses Rose.

And that’s the way it should be, says Rose, the all-time hit king.

“It sounds like in Japan,’’ Rose told USA TODAY Sports, “they’re trying to make me the Hit Queen. I’m not trying to take anything away from Ichiro, he’s had a Hall of Fame career, but the next thing you know, they’ll be counting his high-school hits.

“I don’t think you’re going to find anybody with credibility say that Japanese baseball is equivalent to major-league baseball. There are too many guys that fail here, and then become household names there, like Tuffy Rhodes. How can he not do anything here, and hit (a record-tying) 55 home runs (in 2001) over there?

“It has something to do with the caliber of personnel.’’

No one is saying that Japanese baseball is the equivalent of the major leagues, but yet, as Suzuki and dozens of Japanese players have proven since Los Angeles Dodgers starter Hideo Nomo’s arrival in 1996, the competition in Japan is awfully good.

“It’s hard to compare, but it’s a lot of hits no matter how you slice it,” said Marlins manager Don Mattingly, who produced 2,153 hits. “We’ve had a number of Japanese players come over and be really successful. To say it’s minor-league and major-league numbers, that’s not quite fair.

“The fact is that he’s going to have 3,000 hits here, and to have all of those hits in Japan, too, tells you how special he is. The hits over there are hits against good quality pitching, basically major league-caliber players, so they’re legitimate for sure.’’

Suzuki, the two-time American League batting champion and 2001 AL MVP who broke the major-league record with 262 hits in 2004, refuses to get into the debate. He realizes it would do him no good comparing the major leagues and the Japanese Pacific League, where he won seven consecutive batting titles.

“I would be happy if people covered it or wrote about it,’’ Suzuki told USA TODAY Sports, “but I really would not care if it wasn’t a big deal. To be quite honest, I’m just going out and doing what I do.

“What I care about is my teammates and people close to me celebrating it together, that’s what’s most important to me.’’

He realizes the significance, however, and the celebration that will take place in Japan.

“When I think about it,’’ Suzuki said, “if somebody was to pass Pete Rose’s record just playing in Japan, that would be a bigger accomplishment because of the few games they play over there. We play more games here. So for somebody to pass Pete Rose, just playing baseball games in Japan, would be unbelievable.’’

Suzuki, who’s 42 with a 22-year-old’s body, might pass Rose here, in the shadow of Tony Gwynn’s statue. He marvels at Gwynn’s greatness, and has viewed the eight-time batting champs plaque on a half-dozen occasions at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y. He believes Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak is the greatest feat in the game, and may last forever with today’s defensive shifts and specialized relief pitching.

He can’t wait until July when a new plaque goes up, as Ken Griffey Jr., who preceded Suzuki as a Mariners legend and later played with him for two seasons, is inducted into the Hall of Fame.

“That will be very special to me,’’ Suzuki said. “Ken Griffey Jr. was the reason I was interested in playing here. I was a huge fan of his even in Japan.

“To have somebody you played with, and obviously someday Derek Jeter will be in, but it’s definitely something special to see Ken Griffey go into the Hall of Fame.’’

Suzuki will be an automatic first-ballot Hall of Famer one day too, and has already promised Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson that the museum can have whatever they desire when he breaks Rose’s record, and achieves his 3,000th hit.

“We have this understanding,’’ Suzuki said. “When I die, all my stuff will go to Jeff and the Hall of Fame. Maybe Jeff will be dead before me, but we have this understanding it will all go to the Hall of Fame.

“I love going there, just walking around, the feelings you can get by just being there.’’

Suzuki, who donated his spikes from his 500th career stolen base in April, is the first active player to pledge his entire collection to the Hall of Fame, Idelson said. And, no matter how this country may view it, the Hall of Fame Museum will recognize, and celebrate Suzuki’s all-time hits record.

“Absolutely we will,’’ Idelson said. “Four thousand, two-hundred and fifty-six hits in any league is out of this galaxy in terms of difficulty. It’s a ridiculous amount of hits, and the fact that he did it in Japan and the major leagues has its own set of challenges different from the ones that Pete faces. Acclimating to this culture is a challenge of itself.

“The fact that Ichiro has been so good and sustainable for so many years, it’s an interesting comparison to Rose.’’

It’s just that Rose doesn’t want to hear it, saying it’s no different than considering Japanese legend Sadaharu Oh’s 868 home runs for the Yomiuri Giants the definitive home run mark.

“It’s Barry Bonds,” Rose says of the 762-homer major league mark, “no matter how he got there.’’

Considering that only five players ever produced more hits through their first 2,000 major-league games than Suzuki - and none in the last 70 years - who’s to say he wouldn’t have close to the same amount of hits if he played only in this country? Suzuki wonders at times, but says it’s not worth the time to speculate.

“It doesn’t matter to be honest,’’ said Bonds, now the Miami Marlins' hitting coach, "but it just goes to show that Japanese people kept him over there too long. If he didn’t play [nine] years over there….wow.’’

Bonds was the one who started collecting baseballs from each one of Suzuki’s historic hits this season, meticulously writing the number on the ball, and giving it to him. It was a gesture that Suzuki says he’ll never forget, allowing him to give those balls to family members and close friends.

“It was special that Barry did that for me,’’ Suzuki said. “I think Barry understands what it’s like to go up against a number, and how special it is. He took it upon himself to say, “Hey, you should have some of these accomplishments.’’

Suzuki, who’s hitting .336 this season as the Marlins’ fourth outfielder, certainly is showing no signs of slowing down. Sure, maybe he can’t run as fast to first base. He still puts on a power show in batting practice, hitting at least 10 homers every afternoon, but they don’t go as far as the past. Yet, he still is one of the game’s premier contact hitters, striking out just six times in 116 at-bats. He went 7-for-15 last week in a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins.

Considering he’s still in as good a shape as anyone in the game, going to bed at 3 in the morning, waking up at 10 or 11 to begin his workout routine, maybe he should dispel those plans to play until he’s 50. Maybe it should be 60.

“Could you imagine if somebody at 60 gets 20 stolen bases?’’ Suzuki said, laughing. “That just doesn’t sound right. For me, I pride myself on every aspect of the game. Throwing, running, everything that has to do with baseball, I really feel like I haven’t diminished in those areas.

“The last three years, it was a learning experience not being in the lineup every day, and I had to learn how to prepare differently. But the way I’m playing now, I don’t feel like I’m doing anything special. It just feels normal to me, going out and playing the way I know how.’’

Suzuki, who says his most memorable hit was his first one in his major-league debut on April 2, 2001, against reliever T.J. Mathews of the Oakland A’s, still believes there’s plenty more to come. He may be the greatest contact hitter since Gwynn, but in his mind, it’s not enough.

“To me, I look at it as, “What have I done?’’ Suzuki said. “Obviously, people can argue and say what about the 262 hits, and the two batting titles I have, but I still think I can do more and want to do more, because I think I can. That feeling eats at me more than anything else.’’

Still, considering that first 2001 spring training, when critics wondered if he could even adopt to the major leagues, this man has gone where few have ever traveled in baseball history.

“To be honest, that spring, I was hearing rumblings of, “Who is this guy? He’s not going to be able to do this or that.’ The way I started was really huge for me to shut down the critics, and do well from there.

“I think I’ve done all right.’’