It’s pretty funny.
Ichiro Suzuki’s well-publicized chase of the all-time hit king came to a head this summer, when the Marlins hitter was asked about Pete Rose’s attitude toward his accomplishments. Ichiro summed up his thoughts like so:
I was actually happy to see the Hit King get defensive. I kind of felt I was accepted. I heard that about five years ago Pete Rose did an interview, and he said that he wished that I could break that record. Obviously, this time around it was a different vibe. In the 16 years that I have been here, what I’ve noticed is that in America, when people feel like a person is below them, not just in numbers but in general, they will kind of talk you up.