Ichiro Suzuki reached 200 hits for the season with a single in game two of the Mariners/Rangers double header. That sets the record for consecutive 200-hit seasons:

It wasn’t until 6:30 p.m. PST, after the Mariners had lost the first game, that Ichiro came up in the second inning of the later contest and hit an infield single toward shortstop Elvis Andrus that drove home a run. Andrus gloved the slow roller, took a brief look at runner Josh Wilson heading home, then held on to the ball as Ichiro sped safely across first base with the 453rd infield hit of his career.

The sparse crowd at Rangers Ballpark, on a wet and overcast day, gave Ichiro an ovation as an announcement of Ichiro’s milestone was made.

Ichiro had entered the day tied with Wee Willie Keeler, who’d perfected his so-called “Baltimore Chop” swing at the turn of the last century and parlayed his speed and bat-handling skills into a Hall of Fame career. Keeler’s ability to notch infield singles using the “Chop” became the stuff of legend, as was his credo to “hit ’em where they ain’t.”

Ichiro seemed to take such advice to heart in the first game of the doubleheader, in which the Mariners were beaten, 7-2. He’d grounded out in his first at-bat, but then, his next time up in the third inning, he lined a ball the opposite way to the left field corner.

Rangers left fielder Julio Borbon raced over to attempt a catch, but the ball dropped just out of reach of his outstretched glove. That brought Ryan Langerhans scampering home all the way from first base to get Seattle on the board.

Ichrio’s offense reminds me of Peter Rose. Most of his value lies in his batting average. He uses contact, speed and hustle to reach base. He doesn’t walk much, and his power only seems to come out in batting practice. I’ve never seen anyone better, however, at turning any pitched ball, any where in or out of the strike zone into a hit.