Ichiro: Underappreciated Legend of Our Era

This past week relatively unheralded Matt Murton broke Ichiro Suzuki's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) record with his 211th hit of the season. Ichiro had held the record with his 210 hits in 1994. While Murton's feat is impressive, especially for a guy who had been essentially exiled from the Major Leagues, it is should be noted that his hit came in the 142nd game of a 144-game season. When Ichiro played, the season was only 130 games.If anything, Murton's accomplishment should remind us of the remarkable player that Ichiro has been throughout his baseball career. While his greatness is widely celebrated in his home country of Japan, he is relatively ignored in the United States. Sure, he is vaguely acknowledged as a "great player," but an American player in a bigger market with Ichiro's accomplishment would unquestionably be glorified as a batting God.A number of remarkable statistics indicate Ichiro's greatness.ICHIRO'S MOST CITED ACCOMPLISHME...