The 3,000-hit club has a new member.
Sunday afternoon at Coors Field, Marlins outfielder Ichiro Suzuki recorded career hit No. 3,000 during a game against the Rockies. He beat out an infield single for hit 2,999 on Saturday, then added a triple to right off Rockies reliever Chris Rusin on Sunday to reach the milestone.
Here's video of Ichiro's 3,000th hit:
Ichiro, of course, did not make his MLB debut until age 27 in 2001. He started his career with the Orix Blue Wave in Japan, with whom he recorded 1,278 hits from 1992-2000.
After coming over to the big leagues, Ichiro amassed 2,533 hits with the Mariners from 2001-12, another 311 hits with the Yankees from 2012-14, and now 155 hits with the Marlins from 2015-16.
All told, Ichiro has recorded 4,278 career hits between Japan and MLB, the most in pro history. Pete Rose holds the MLB record with 4,256 hits and most still consider him baseball's all-time hit king.
Since arriving in 2001, Ichiro has won two batting titles (2001, 2004) and has led the league in hits seven times (2001, 2004, 2006-10). His 262 hits in 2004 are the all-time single season record.
Ichiro is a 10-time All-Star who was named both Rookie of the Year and MVP back in 2001. That he's been able to reach the 3,000 hits milestone despite not debuting until age 27 is simply remarkable.
The last player prior to Ichiro to reach 3,000 hits was Alex Rodriguez with the Yankees in 2015. Who will be next to get to 3,000? Most likely Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre. He has 2,878 career hits.