It’s hard enough producing at consistently high levels for nearly a decade; it’s even harder when you’re carrying the proverbial hopes of a nation on your back. After watching Ichiro set the MLB record for consecutive 200-hit seasons, Japanese fans - and more than a few Japanese baseball legends - are impressed. From The Sporting News:
Japanese Baseball Greats Praise Ichiro
The high praise for Ichiro Suzuki came from none other than Japanese home run king Sadaharu Oh.
“Sometimes we forget how difficult it is to accomplish these things amid a baseball schedule which is much tougher in the U.S. than in Japan,” Oh said. “It’s hard to find the words to describe what he has accomplished.”
Oh was among the baseball luminaries, players and fans to hail Suzuki on Monday after the Seattle Mariners outfielder became the first player in major league history with at least 200 hits in nine straight seasons. [...]
The mass circulation newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun printed a special edition with the headline “Ichiro breaks major league record.”
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