On June 15, 2016, Ichiro Suzuki tallied two hits against the San Diego Padres to reach 2,979 for his MLB career; coupled with his 1,278 hits in Japan, that gave him 4,257 total professional hits, thus surpassing Pete Rose’s total of 4,256 professional hits (all accumulated in MLB). Though most baseball fans and pundits still consider Rose the all-time hits king due to the differences between American and Japanese professional baseball, this milestone nevertheless highlighted the incredible hitting prowess and consistency and longevity of two of baseball’s legendary hitters. Despite the differences in era, ethnicity, and personality, the two men are bonded by their shared affinity for gathering hits and tenacious, unrelenting style of play, leading to the natural comparisons and thus, the question:
Who was better – Pete Rose or Ichiro Suzuki?
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