It was the infield single heard round the world.

Ichiro's scratch hit on Wednesday afternoon, the 4,256th hit of his professional career became a reason to celebrate and reflect around the baseball world.

With that hit, the 42-year-old tied the top-flight pro total of major league hit leader Pete Rose, sparking a debate in the United States about the relative merits and difficulty between Japan's major leagues and America's. In his homeland, a former opponent, Hall of Fame pitcher Kimiyasu Kudo took the opportunity to speak of Ichiro's impact on baseball and society.