41 year old Ichiro Suzuki is about to sign with Miami for probably one last season in the majors.
He is only 156 hits short of 3,000 as a U.S. MLB player, the milestone that still gets an automatic berth in the Hall of Fame. If you add in his Japanese hit totals, he is well over 4,000 professional hits.
He was an old school professional hitter, taking his hard swings and taking his choppy infield singles. He also was an above average outfielder with a good arm for his size. His success in Seattle opened the doors for many more Japanese ball players to be scouted and signed in the U.S.
He has led the league in hits for 7 of his 14 seasons in the U.S. He sports a career BA of .317. He won two batting titles. He hit 117 HR, 717 RBI and 487 RBI. He has a career war of 59.3.
When one goes by the standard of whether a HOF candidate was an "impact" player during his era, Ichiro would qualify. He probably will fall just short of 3,000 hits and 500 SB so some writers may put him in the "very good" player category like a Kenny Lofton.
