Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani ties impressive Ichiro Suzuki record in MLB history originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Before Shohei Ohtani arrived, Ichiro Suzuki was the best Japanese player to ever suit up in Major League Baseball.
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Ichiro was quite the pitcher growing up, too, although he wasn’t a two-way player in MLB the way Ohtani is for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Those two names will always be linked in their heritage, and in many ways for their impact on MLB.
They’re also together on a really cool leaderboard.
Ichiro set the record for a Japanese player for consecutive games reaching base, at 43 in 2009.
Suzuki also had a 40-game on-base streak in 2004, which ranks second all-time for Japanese players.
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On Sunday, Ohtani reached base for the 40th consecutive game to tie Ichiro for second place on that list — and he’s still alive to try to catch that first-place mark.
Ohtani wasn’t “on base” for very long on the hit that extended his streak. It was a home run to dead centerfield in the nation’s capital against the Nationals:
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No one would bet against Ohtani continuing to be amazing and to claim this record for himself.
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It also emphasizes the greatness of Ichiro that he held the top-two spots here for a long time.
Baseball is an international game in the best way, and Ohtani is the latest — and best — example.
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