Ichiro Suzuki, playing his fourth season with the Seattle Mariners, connected for his 2,000th career hit in his third at-bat in a 5-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers at Safeco Field on Friday night.
Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki acknowledges the Safeco Field crowd as he stands on first base
after singling in the fifth inning against Detroit on Friday for his 2,000th career hit. Ichiro had
three hits in the game, which the Tigers won 5-0.
In the fifth inning, Suzuki lined a first-pitch fastball from Nate Robertson to center in his 1,465th career game since joining the Orix BlueWave as a fourth-round draft pick in 1992. He left Japan in 2000 after producing 1,278 hits and winning seven Pacific League batting titles.
"I often think of the time my scout encouraged me to aim for 2,000 hits when I first joined the pros," said Suzuki after acknowledging a standing ovation with a curtain call.