Leading off

Well, it's an off day for the Red Sox and the Patriots still have a few days left before they turn Joey Porter into the next Anthony Smith, so let's talk about some out of market things.

Let's talk about Ichiro. The man (I use that term loosely because he puts up inhuman numbers) just recorded his eighth-consecutive 200-hit season last night. To put that into perspective: Dustin Pedroia became the first Red Sox player to record 200 hits in a season since 1998. That means while the Sox (one of the best offensive teams in the league every year) couldn't get a single player to notch 200 hits for a decade, Ichiro did it in each of the first eight seasons of his career.

Which brings me to my next point...Ichiro is a Hall of Famer. No doubt about it. No debate. You don't even have to count any of his statistics from Japan. His MLB numbers are good enough on their own.

Well, I guess there's always a debate, so I might as well state the facts of the case. In his eight seasons, Ichiro has never had fewer than 206 hits. He's never had fewer than 31 steals. He's never scored fewer than 101 runs (he has 96 this year so far). He's never batted lower than .303. He's never played in fewer than 157 games (151 so far this year). When you put his worst season totals all together for one year, he's still probably a top 10 MVP candidate.

Plus, he has been arguably one of the best outfielders in the game. He's racked up 67 assists and made just 15 errors in eight years. 

He's won an MVP, a rookie of the year award, an All Star MVP, seven gold gloves (in seven years), two silver sluggers, two batting titles. He's been named to eight all star games, set a record for hits in a season, and made the game even more global than it already was.

In my mind, Ichiro has been the best leadoff hitter in baseball for the past eight years. He very likely has been the best or one of the best (see Torii Hunter) defensive outfielders in the game as well. That makes him a Hall of Famer even if he has only been here for less than a decade.

Even if he never played another game, Ichiro should be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. But just in case no one is buying that, he will probably get to 2,000 hits next year. He's 34 years old, and at this pace he would get to 3,000 hits just before his 40th birthday (in just 14 seasons!!!). He is one of the greatest players of our time, and there is really no doubt about that.