Pete Rose is a lot of things to a lot of people. Hit King. Legend. Cheat. Liar. The man with the record number of runs in MLB – 4,256 to be exact – divides opinion like no other baseball great.
His entrance into the Hall of Fame will be forever blocked following the shame of betting on games while managing and playing for the Cincinnati Reds.
Considering baseball bosses failed to expunge the records of convicted drug cheats like Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez, the refusal to allow an old man a piece of redemption in his twilight years is double standards of the highest order.
So it was no surprise to watch a row brew after Miami Marlins batter Ichiro Suzuki passed his legendary record last week.
Or did he? When his total clicked past Rose’s in San Diego with an eighth inning double to right field, it was an undeniably proud moment for the evergreen Japanese star. The crowd rose to acclaim his achievement.
Did you know Pete Rose is the only player selected to the All-Star team at 5 different positions? #14foreverhttps://t.co/EwGTADj1Rn
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) June 20, 2016
Has a new Hit King been born? In terms of pure numbers, perhaps. In reality? No way. Over a quarter of Suzuki’s hits – 1,278 – were bagged in NPB – Japan’s national league. Furthermore, if Rose’s 427 minor league hits are counted, there’s some way to go yet.
This is no slight on the game in Japan. Many players have come to North America from the Far East and prospered. The links between the two competitions remains strong.
Yet anyone trying to dethrone Rose are perhaps the types who’d use the goals Wayne Rooney scored as a 13-year-old in an ‘is he better than Pele?’ argument.
The NPB isn’t MLB. The standard is a level below. Stadia are smaller. There are fewer games. It’s basically not as good.
So you can perhaps understand Rose’s typically snarky riposte to anyone trying to shoot down his legend. “It sounds like in Japan they’re trying to make me the Hit Queen,” he sniped as the fear of a slump in sales of Hit King merchandise began to engulf him.
“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.”
Conversely, the argument to batter Rose’s character also stands firm. After all, his total in the majors still stands. There was no reason to diminish Ichiro, a fine player and a credit to baseball over the past 25 years.
The 42-year-old is no slouch. Indeed, once his career comes to an end he will surely revel in being named in the Hall of Fame both in the US and Japan, a serious feat indeed.
It should be noted that Ichiro led the majors in hits seven times compared to Rose’s three.
That said, he should still not be considered to have eclipsed the now 75-year-old Rose’s records.
Ichiro Suzuki: 4,257 career hits, combining MLB and Japanese League totals
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 15, 2016
Pete Rose: 4,256 MLB hits
Rose is the master in MLB. The best in all professional baseball? Ichiro has a decent case. “With all respect, this is the greatest league in the world,” piped up Rodriguez.
The fabled 3,000 run mark will soon be eclipsed and that too should be warmly recognised.
The fuss of it all says much about the perception of the outspoken, gregarious Rose than anything else – and how he can divide opinion.
People should just enjoy Ichiro’s accomplishment before getting lost in out of sync comparisons.
“You don’t have to rank anybody like that,” said Angels first baseman Albert Pujols. “Can you imagine if he were to come here right away? I think he would have easily broken Pete Rose’s record.
“Ichiro was the Pete Rose, pretty much, of baseball when he came up. You appreciate what both of the players did. Whether it’s in Japan or whether it’s here in America, 3,000 hits are a lot of hits. It doesn’t matter where you do it.”
Ultimately this all boils down to the general dislike of a loud-mouthed, legendary player.
Nevertheless, it would have just been nice for Rose to drop the nonsense for a split second and simply trot out a harmless ‘well done, Ichiro’.
But that just isn’t Pete Rose. And it never will be.
