Put a large asterisk (*) next to Ichiro's new single season hit record in major league baseball.

by James K. Sayre

7 October 2004

Sports sections of newspapers all across America have happily proclaimed that Ichiro Suzuki, the star right fielder of the Seattle Mariners, has broken George Sisler's long-standing single season hit total of 258. Howver, this new record needs a very large asterisk (*) next to it, because Ichiro achieved it in 162 games, while George Sisler, the brilliant hitter for the St. Louis Browns, set his record in 1920 in a 154 game season. The advantage of having an additional eight games is obvious, because Ichiro did not even tie Sisler's record until game 160, some six games more than Sisler played. Over the entire season, Sisler's 258 hits in 154 games averages out to 1.675 hits per game, while Ichiro's 262 hits in 162 games averages out to 1.617 hits per game, a significantly lower average. There is no denying that Ichiro is one of the great modern hitters, however, he still has not surpassed George Sisler's average of 1.675 hits per game over the entire season.

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Web page last updated on 7 October 2004.