Miami Marlins Ichiro Suzuki Keeps Moving Up Hit Chart

Roberto Clemente (3,000 hits, 30th all-time): In 1968, Roberto Clemente had a bit of an off year, managing to hit only .291 while winning a Gold Glove. Despite only nine players posting a better average in the whole of baseball, that type of lackluster production was enough to keep the Pirates outfielder out of the All-Star Game.

That burst of stupidity was the only thing that kept Clemente from being able to lay claim to a stunning thirteen consecutive All-Star appearances.  The aforementioned Gold Glove, however, did keep alive a string of an even more amazing twelve straight top defensive honors. Both runs beat Ichiro’s marks easily. Really, we could just put it’s Roberto Clemente in italics and leave it at that.  The twelve seasons he hit .300 or better equals Suzuki, while his two World Series titles beats him again.  He led the NL in batting average four times, MLB three times, and has both an NL and a WS MVP to his name.

Clemente wins hands down.

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