Alex Ramirez thanked God before he reached first base. He continued along and touched the other bags as a light, constant rain fell on Jingu Stadium and the sparse crowd — 11,069 to be exact, though Ramirez would later say the place felt packed — that braved the promise of a Saturday downpour and watched him become the first foreign-born player in NPB history (42nd overall) to collect 2,000 hits, which he did with the 379th home run of his career.
"In the future, I will not have to say I was a good player anymore" Ramirez said. "I'm not going to have to say I was a good player in Japan. With this, it speaks for itself."
Ramirez's legacy in Japanese baseball was secure long ago. The only question now is if he'll be remembered as the greatest foreign-born player ever.