Regular Season
Ichiro Suzuki set the major league record for hits in a season on October 1, breaking George Sisler's 84-year-old mark with a pair of early singles as the Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 8-3. It was his 258th hit of the season. Later in the game, Suzuki got another hit, giving him 259 this season and a major league-leading .373 average. Fireworks exploded after Suzuki's big hit reached the outfield, creating a haze over Safeco Field, and his teammates mobbed him at first base. The crowd of 45,573 was the ninth sellout this season. After the record breaking hit, Suzuki ran to the first-base seats, bowed respectfully and then shook hands with Sisler's 81-year-old daughter, Frances Sisler Drochelman, and other members of the Hall of Famer's family. Fans in downtown Tokyo watched Suzuki in sports bars and on big-screen monitors. Seattle's hitting coach that season was Paul Molitor. Sisler set the hits record in 1920 with the St. Louis Browns over a 154-game schedule. Suzuki broke it in the Mariners' 160th game. Suzuki's hit came off Ryan Drese, boosting Suzuki to 10-for-20 lifetime against him. Suzuki's sixth-inning infield single came off John Wasdin. After Suzuki's 258th hit, he scored his 100th run of the season when the Mariners batted around in the third, taking a 6-2 lead on six hits. Suzuki's first-inning single was his 919th hit in the majors, breaking the record for most hits over a four-year span. Bill Terry of the New York Giants set the previous record of 918 hits from 1929-32. Suzuki has 921 hits in four seasons.
Read more about this topic: 2004 Seattle Mariners Season
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