Mariners outfielder, and arguably the best leadoff hitter in baseball, Ichiro Suzuki became the first MLB player to string together ten consecutive seasons of 200 hits. He smacked his 200th hit on Thursday afternoon in the fifth inning of a 1-0 loss to the Blue Jays.
Ichiro matches the record set by Pete Rose, who also compiled 10, 200-hit seasons, but Rose did it intermittently across his 24-year career in the majors. Ichiro has tallied 200 hits or more in each season since he signed with the Mariners in 2001, and surpassed Wee Willie Keeler's record of nine consecutive 200-hit seasons set back in 1901.
Despite tallying the hit on the road, Suzuki still received a standing ovation for the record-breaking hit, and even walked out of the dugout to tip his helmet to the cheering crowd.
Suzuki has led the majors in hits for six of his 10 MLB seasons, he has led the league in that category for the past four seasons.
Jose Bautista also reached a milestone in the matchup with Seattle, smacking his 50th home run of the year off Felix Hernandez in the first inning. He is the first MLB player to hit 50 home runs in a season since Prince Fielder and Alex Rodriguez did it in 2007.
