Since his arrival from Japan in 2001, the Mariners’ Ichiro Suzuki has proved to be as adept at anyone in history at the simple act of hitting – as distinct from productive hitting. In his first three American campaigns, the outfielder has finished either first or second in his league in overall hits and has led in singles all three years.

More impressively, with 212 hits entering this month, Ichiro has a strong chance to eclipse George Sisler’s 84-year-old record of 257 hits in a season. Assuming Ichiro maintains his season average of 4.4 at-bats per game, he would need to bat .338 the rest of the way (46 hits in his remaining 136 at-bats) to surpass Sisler. Should Ichiro maintain his current batting average of .371, he would sail past Sisler with something in the neighborhood of 263 hits.

While this new record would be an amazing feat and a testament to consistency, its overall significance would be limited. In emphasizing contact above all else, Ichiro neglects power and patience, the two most valuable contributions a hitter can make to the offense. In other words, for all the accolades that he gets – including the 2001 MVP award – there’s no denying it: Ichiro Suzuki is overrated.

Mickey Mantle’s comment from years ago sums up the lesser utility of the slash-and-dash approach well: If he hit like Pete Rose, he would wear a dress. Power hitters consciously exchange singles for strikeouts in the hope that their hits will total four bases instead of one. Ichiro currently ranks 37th in the American League with a .467 slugging average, a remarkably low mark given his stratospheric batting average.

Ichiro’s approach also eschews walks, which is why he penetrated the top 10 in on-base average only once in his first three AL seasons, ranking 10th in 2002.

This year, he ranks third in the AL with a .410 OBA, still a very low figure given his batting average. Ichiro’s overall approach makes for a slashing, old-school player who is fun to watch but does less to put runs on the board than some fairly anonymous players.

George Sisler was much the same kind of player. He drew 30 to 40 walks a season, never coming close to the league leaders. Although he reached base far more often than the average player, he did not do so as often as some players who were good at both hitting for average and taking ball four. In 1920, the year Sisler set the hits record, he led the AL with a .407 batting average, exceeding runner-up Tris Speaker’s .388, Shoeless Joe Jackson’s .382, and Babe Ruth’s .376. But because Sisler drew only 46 walks, his .449 on-base percent age ranked third behind Ruth’s .582 and Speaker’s .483.

Ichiro’s record, should he achieve it, will have been achieved with a higher degree of difficulty. Sisler’s American League of 1920 was a lilywhite aggregation that played only day games and had few relief pitchers – by the time the ninth inning rolled around, Sisler might see the same tired pitcher’s offerings for the fifth time. It is safe to say that no lefty specialist was ever called out of the pen to pitch against him in a close game. And the overall quality of the league was far lower than it is today. From 1901 to 1950, 37 players posted batting averages 100 points or more above the league average. From 1950 to today it has been done only 15 times.

In Sisler’s day, stadiums had not yet been redesigned to take advantage of the home run era that had begun in 1920. The typical ballpark featured huge outfields that encouraged doubles, triples, and inside-the-park home runs – exactly what Sisler was swinging for. Baseball magnates eventually realized that home runs improved attendance and redesigned their ballparks accordingly, bringing the fences closer to home plate. This meant more homers, but it also reduced the area that outfielders had to patrol, choking off the huge gaps in which hitters like Sisler made their living.

Sisler was worth 90 batting runs above replacement-level player in 1920. Meanwhile Ichiro has been only 57 runs better than replacement, someone like Joe McEwing. The big difference here lies in the gap in slugging percentage – Sisler slugged .632 in a league that slugged .387 overall, hitting 49 doubles, 18 triples, and 19 home runs in setting a record for total bases. The extra-base hits were in part a gift of the ballparks in which he played.

Ichiro’s time is entirely hostile to his style of hitter, one reason why few players have followed his example, even those who might benefit from it. Lacking the expansive alleys of the past, he has just 34 extra-base hits this year, slugging .467 in a league that is slugging .435.

But for the all the statistical analysis, the significance of the hits record (or any record) is not only its numerical value, but what it means to baseball culture as a whole. Sisler achieved the record in virtual anonymity. With no radio and no television, and playing before an average of 5,000 fans per game, Sisler’s hitting went largely unnoticed.

By contrast, Ichiro is magnetic, due in part to his throwback style of hitting, which would have been unremarkable in Sisler’s time. Though the Mariners are almost certain to lose 100 games this year, they will finish the year with an attendance of close to three million. They have Ichiro to thank for that.

His record may not be the most indicative of run production. Instead, call it the work of a player who’s like no one else in his era.

This article was provided by Baseball Prospectus. The Sun will run exclusive content from Baseball Prospectus throughout the 2004 season. For more state-of-the-art baseball content, visit www.baseballprospectus.com.