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Mr. 3,000: Ichiro and underrated feats

Posted on July 31st, 2008 – 12:50 PM
By Michael Rand

In case you missed it — and we did — Ichiro reached 3,000 combined hits in Japan and the Major Leagues with a trademark soft single earlier this week. He is only 34 years old. That is ridiculous, regardless of whether you think the hits from Japan are on par with his hits here (and by the way: he had 1,722 Major League hits in 1,224 games when he broke the record, while he had 1,278 in 951 games in Japan. That’s 1.41 hits/game here, 1.34 hits/game in Japan). So we ask this afternoon: What are some of the other most underrated accomplishments in sports history?

38 Responses to "Mr. 3,000: Ichiro and underrated feats"

Timberhill says:

July 31st, 2008 at 1:05 pm

Cal Ripkin Jr.’s career besides the streak.

Dave MN says:

July 31st, 2008 at 1:07 pm

The Twins front office not making a worthwhile deadline deal since 2003

jama says:

July 31st, 2008 at 1:09 pm

Rand scoring one point in ping pong while using a two handed backhand

jama says:

July 31st, 2008 at 1:11 pm

Nick Punto hitting .290 over a whole season.

jama says:

July 31st, 2008 at 1:12 pm

Oscar Robertson averaging a triple double for a season.

newbie says:

July 31st, 2008 at 1:16 pm

ESPN actually reporting a trade amidst all of its breaking reports that “nothing is happening.”

roughkat says:

July 31st, 2008 at 1:25 pm

S.U. Perrookie’s streak of appearing in the Strib in some sort of format. If it’s not a shot of shaved leg, it’s his ugly mug at the Thunder game. Media whore!

jama says:

July 31st, 2008 at 1:28 pm

Drafting WR’s in the first 2 rounds of a fantasy draft and actually winning a couple of weeks.

ramon says:

July 31st, 2008 at 1:29 pm

I made a left-handed layup last week.

jama says:

July 31st, 2008 at 1:30 pm

The Atlanta Braves winning 48 straight division titles.

jama says:

July 31st, 2008 at 1:30 pm

The Cubs not winning a World Series in almost 100 years and still having a team.

Toonces51 says:

July 31st, 2008 at 1:37 pm

Hey, wait a second…were you in the RandBall fantasy football league last year Jama? I don’t remember making fun of any Bears fans at the draft…

Brandon says:

July 31st, 2008 at 1:40 pm

Dave Stieb losing two consecutive no-hit bids with two outs in the ninth.

jama says:

July 31st, 2008 at 1:44 pm

Toonces

I wasn’t invited to participate in the RBFFL last year but it was discussed in great length on this here website that I am well aware of a certain individual drafting back to back WR’s with his first pick

newbie says:

July 31st, 2008 at 1:47 pm

Ndudi Ebi’s 0.8 PPG in his rookie season, and getting no love for R.O.Y.

roughkat says:

July 31st, 2008 at 1:51 pm

- Britney Spears wearing underwear.
- T-Hud Selling 78 copies of his album the first week it was released.
- Spree’s family eating.
- Jon winning the RBFFL last year without a single hockey player on his roster.

Jon says:

July 31st, 2008 at 1:56 pm

roughkat: +2 - one for Spree, one for T-Hud.

jama says:

July 31st, 2008 at 2:01 pm

Wade Boggs drinking 64 Miller Lite’s on a Cross Country flight.

newbie says:

July 31st, 2008 at 2:16 pm

Honestly though, Luis Castillo’s 143-game errorless streak was pretty cool.
(Who thinks to look that up?)

Stu says:

July 31st, 2008 at 2:19 pm

Roughkat: that is Ookie, media whore, rocking the specs and scarf look, yes?

jama says:

July 31st, 2008 at 2:21 pm

Which 4 eyed scarf wearer are you refering to in that picture? There are like 4 of them.

jama says:

July 31st, 2008 at 2:22 pm

Didn’t Castillo’s record get broken like 2 months later by Placido Polanco?

newbie says:

July 31st, 2008 at 2:29 pm

Yeah, so! it was still cool… for those 2 months!

Dave MN says:

July 31st, 2008 at 2:31 pm

Placido Polanco having a baseball career despite having a name more suitable for opera or ballroom dance

newbie says:

July 31st, 2008 at 2:37 pm

Yeah, so! it was still cool… for those 2 months!

FINE! Steve Garvey’s errorless streak of 193 games.

roughkat says:

July 31st, 2008 at 2:39 pm

Stu - Yes, arms raised…

ramon says:

July 31st, 2008 at 2:45 pm

Jim Marshall still holds the record for fumbles recovered. And consecutive games played (punters do not count).

Paul Krause, career interception record holder.

Two Vikes holding career take-away records should get some mention.

Stu says:

July 31st, 2008 at 2:46 pm

I figured as much, but I made the mistake of thinking that there’s no way he’d show up in the paper again.

Rocket says:

July 31st, 2008 at 2:54 pm

Most gallons of tears shed at a news conference to announce a retirement that everybody on the planet knew was bogus: 37 by Brett Fav-ray.

By the way, I told RandBall in a phone conversation a few weeks back that, since every bloated gasbag on television emphatically declared while pounding their fist on the table that there was no way that Fav-ray was going to end up with the Vikings, I was honestly beginning to believe that fate was destined to take a massive BM on those idiots and find a way to move him to Minny. We, as a society, are moving ever closer to a better place where the ill-bred, gap-toothed, goat aficionados on ESPN are being exposed for what they are. Keep saving your pennies for your purple #4 jerseys, ladies and gents!

jama says:

July 31st, 2008 at 3:03 pm

IT looks like S.U.Perrookie wins the award for the Thunder fan with the biggest pit stains.

roughkat says:

July 31st, 2008 at 3:12 pm

Keep saving your pennies matches & gasoline for your purple #4 jerseys, ladies and gents!

Fixed.

ramon says:

July 31st, 2008 at 3:38 pm

You go Rocket!

Mark H says:

July 31st, 2008 at 3:41 pm

no one has mentioned Brett Favre for the most articles about him without anything really happening?

jama says:

July 31st, 2008 at 3:42 pm

That’s because Manny Ramirez has been neck and neck.

Mark H says:

July 31st, 2008 at 3:46 pm

save the gasoline for the Green jerseys roughkat…

by the way, what sweeter way to stick it to Wisconsin than, after stealing their legend from them, winning a couple of super bowls and convincing him to enter the Hall of Fame… NOT as a Packer, but a Viking??? not going to happen, but I know I’d die happy!

Rocket says:

July 31st, 2008 at 4:03 pm

I will go, Ramon. I will go…in limerick!

Tho’ it may make them universally hated
Manny and Fav-ray’s egos’ are sated
With all of these will theys? or maybes?
Tho’ it makes them look like crybabies
But at least Manny finally got traded

ramon says:

July 31st, 2008 at 4:07 pm

COW

roughkat says:

July 31st, 2008 at 4:20 pm

I’m already tired of number four
Not sure I can take any more.
Do we really want him on our team
If so I’m going to need a lot of Jim Beam
I don’t care how much they score