In my mind, Rose is the 'Hit Queen'

Steve Phillips

TSN Baseball Insider

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With his two hits on Wednesday, Ichiro Suzuki passed Pete Rose for the most professional hits with 4,257.

Pete Rose had become the all-time hits leader back on Sept. 1, 1985 when he passed hall of famer Ty Cobb and earned the moniker ‘The Hit King,’ complete with hats, t-shirts and even a throne made of bats at his restaurant in Las Vegas. 

Rose is a bit upset that in Japan they’re now considering him the ‘Hit Queen.’ And while Rose is quick to acknowledge Ichiro’s greatness and hall of fame status, he gives no credit for his hits accumulated overseas. Rose believes the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league is much closer to minor league baseball than it is the majors, and if Ichiro’s 1,278 Japanese hits are included, then his own minor league hits should be added to his totals.

So let the debate begin.

First, the NPB isn’t quite as good as the majors here in North America. Everyone seems to be pointing to former big leaguer Tuffy Rhodes, who had only 13 homers here compared to 464 in Japan. And those numbers don’t represent the disparity between the two leagues at all. 

This is an argument of performance enhancement: Ichiro’s numbers were enhanced a bit because the NPB isn’t quite as good as MLB. There’s just more depth of talent here than there is there. Therefore, every hit in the Land of the Rising Sun isn’t equal to every hit here.

Let’s say that you buy that argument. How much is a Japanese hit worth compared to a hit in the majors?  The NPB season was only 142 games long when Ichiro played there, which is 12 per cent shorter than the MLB season of 162 games.

So if a Japanese hit is worth 88 per cent of a U.S. hit and Ichiro had 88 per cent as many games to accumulate his hits, then the NPB hits equal the MLB hits.

Should we also take into account that Ichiro came to the U.S. in the middle of baseball’s steroid era and competed against pitchers who enhanced their performance? He clearly wasn’t juicing and would have had more hits here in North America if not for that.

Also, Pete Rose played on artificial turf most of his career. That certainly allowed him to get a few more hits than if he played on slower natural grass. And Rose played in an era where starting pitchers would frequently stay in the game for seven, eight or nine innings. Any hitter will tell you it’s much easier to hit against a pitcher the third and fourth time you see him. Ichiro plays in an era where there are situational specialists at every turn. 

In my opinion, Ichiro is a better hitter than Pete Rose. If Ichiro had played his first eight seasons in the U.S., he would have more MLB hits than Rose and would be recognized by everyone as the 'Hit King.'  Ichiro is the better all-around player too. He stole more bases and is a better defender than Charlie Hustle.

Major League records won’t honour Ichiro’s hits in Japan, but I will. In my mind, Rose is demoted to 'Hit Queen.' Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

Which Blue Jay will it be? 

From the latest results arriving in All-Star fan balloting, we have five Blue Jays are in the mix, but none leading at their position to start (Jose Bautista is sixth among outfielders). So it doesn't look like any of Toronto’s players will crack the starting lineup.

Josh Donaldson and Edwin Encarnacion have a chance at being players’ choices in the team building process.  If they are, then they’ll automatically make the team as reserves.  

If none of the Jays are selected for the All-Star Game by the fans or players, then the club’s representation is open for debate. Remember, the game means something as the League that wins gets home field advantage for the World Series. Royals manager Ned Yost will manage the AL squad and gets to handle these decisions.

If I wanted to win the game, I want Donaldson on my roster. Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas is injured and out for the season, so there won’t be any partisanship to keep Donaldson off the AL squad.  An argument could be made for Encarnacion as well. If you want a run driven in, he’s among a handful of guys you absolutely want at the plate. 

But the Jays’ best shots at the All-Star team belong to Marco Estrada and Aaron Sanchez. Thinking like a manager, I would want a guy on my staff who’s among the most unhittable in the game. Estrada’s .168 opponents’ batting average is the best in baseball. And Sanchez would be an awesome weapon for Yost to have coming out of the bullpen.  His 97 mph sinker could prove to be effective with runners on base at a critical time of the game. 

Those are the best possibilities the Jays have for the game. They will have Donaldson, Estrada and Sanchez in San Diego, while Encarnacion is edged out. 

Canadian Content! 

There’s a great story in Pittsburgh as Jameson Taillon is turning heads with his performance on the mound, particularly on Tuesday when he took a no-hitter into the seventh and held the Mets to two hits in eight scoreless innings. And he has another 'test' on Sunday against the powerhouse Cubs (TSN2, 8pm et/5pm pt). 

Taillon was born in Florida and raised in Texas - by two Canadian-born parents! And he has dual citizenship between Canada and the United States. You may also remember him pitching for Canada at the 2013 World Baseball Classic. 

An early sign of what the Pirates think of this young righty is the fact that they drafted him second overall in 2010 behind Washington’s Bryce Harper and in front of Baltimore’s Manny Machado. There are big expectations that he’ll slot in to the front of the rotation with Garrett Cole. 

Taillon has a four-seam fastball that he can launch up to 99 mph to go with a two-seamer at about 92-95 mph.  He also has big breaking curveball that he can start out of the zone and break in or start in and snap out of the zone.  He also has a circle change-up to keep hitters honest. Taillon has extraordinary poise and confidence, which allows him to throw any pitch at any time in the count.

In his first outing against the Mets, he took a no-decision - going six innings while giving up six hits and three runs with two walks and three strikeouts. And as mentioned, his second go against the Mets was an absolute gem.

Taillon had excellent command of his pitches in his two starts, throwing 60 and 61 strikes in his 91 pitches thrown in each game. He also showed the ability to throw the fastball up and down in the zone. And he threw the curve ball in the same plane, which kept the hitters guessing.

Injuries have slowed Taillon‘s path to the big leagues. He had Tommy John surgery last year as well as a sports hernia. But he’s healthy and strong now and with a massive, 6’5 240-pound frame, he’s an impressive presence on the mound.

I’m not sure Taillon will live up to what Harper and Machado have become from that same draft year, but he has the makings of a solid front-end starting pitcher. 

Some Random Thoughts:

The Mets are in trouble, as their offence has become anemic. The losses of David Wright (season-ending neck surgery), Lucas Duda, Travis d’Arnaud and Neil Walker make them very soft and they played with just two of the eight Opening Day starters in the lineup on Wednesday. The Mets better figure it out soon or the Nats may run away with the NL East.

The Rockies designated Jose Reyes for assignment this week and his days - with Colorado or for his career - may be over.  Teams are willing to take on players with baggage, but they have to be good enough to warrant the decision. And I can’t find a team for whom Reyes makes sense at this stage of the season. Teams that are rebuilding don’t need him and typically clubs that are winning don’t need an aging middle infielder. The Mets have already said no thanks despite their injuries. So it appears the Rockies will pay him the remaining $38 million on his contract for nothing.

The Rockies aren’t alone in eating contract money. The Royals designated second baseman Omar Infante for assignment as well and will likely assume all of the $14.7 million remaining on his deal. Then there’s the Dodgers, who swallowed hard and released Carl Crawford with $35 million still left on his contract. Ever wanted to know what contract money tastes like? It tastes awful! It’s worse when it’s a bad contract you gave a player and even more bitter when your owner’s really mad. 

The Washington Nationals beat the Chicago Cubs two games-to-one in a three-game series this week.  Both Nats wins came in walk-off fashion with Jayson Werth as the hero. And in fine fashion, he cursed multiple times in post-game interview that was piped into the stadium PA system. I know he was excited about the win, but his language was inappropriate.  He also took a shot at fans who were critical of his lack of production at times. I would have grabbed him after the interview and told him that as long as he represents our  team, he won’t talk that way again on camera. And isn’t the caveman/Duck Dynasty look out of fashion now?  Can he please get a haircut and trim his beard?

Speaking of clean-kept teams, the New York Yankees are now in the AL East basement so don’t be surprised if the many rumours regarding Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller become reality. The Giants, Cubs, Nationals and Rangers have all been tied to those relievers. The question isn’t if they’ll get traded -  it’s when. 

Steve Phillips was general manager of the New York Mets from 1997 through 2003, helping lead the club to a National League championship in 2000 and its first World Series appearance since 1986. His analysis appears each week on TSN.ca, TSN Radio and SportsCentre.