Seattle Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki is close to breaking George Sisler's record for hits in a season (257), which was set in 1920. Follow Ichiro's progress as we update this page daily.

UPDATE: October 3, 2004

Ichiro Suzuki set a new record for hits in a season on October 1, going 3 for 5 against the Texas Rangers. Suzuki's hit total on that day went from 256 to 259, tying George Sisler's 1920 total of 257 with his first hit, breaking the record with his second hit, and adding to his new record with his third hit of the day.

Following his record-breaking performance, Ichiro finished the season going 1 for 5 on Oct. 2nd and 2 for 4 on Oct. 3rd, giving him 262 hits for the season. Ichiro also captured the American League batting title with a .372 average, easily outdistancing runner-up Melvin Mora of the Baltimore Orioles, who finished the season at a very respectable .340. Suzuki also led the majors in average, as Barry Bonds won the National League batting title with a .362 average.

In an interesting dichotomy, Suzuki led all hitters with 704 at bats, while Bonds registered a mere 373 at bats. Since qualifying for the batting title is based upon plate appearances, not at bats, Bonds, with a remarkable 232 walks (most of them intentional), easily surpassed the needed 502 (defined as 3.1 plate appearances per team game played, i.e., 162 X 3.1 = 502.2) and picked up yet another piece of hardware for his already overcrowded trophy case.

For the record, in addition to his 262 hits, Suzuki walked 49 times, struck out 63 times, stole 36 bases and was caught 11 times, scored 101 runs and drove in an even 60. Of his 262 hits, Suzuki produced 225 singles (another MLB record), 24 doubles, 5 triples, 8 home runs, and finished the season on a 13-game hitting streak.