Ichiro, The True Hit King, Subtly Burns Pretender Pete Rose

As we’ve stated before, Ichiro Suzuki is the true Hit King, and Pete Rose, who looks like two dog asses fucking, can get bent. We were forced to make this proclamation after Rose got sassy about the 1,278 hits Ichiro racked up in Japan, which make him a definitively superior batsman to Rose when combined with the 2,998 hits he’s gotten in MLB. In an interview with ESPN, Ichiro was asked to respond to Rose’s comments, and he handled himself perfectly.

From ESPN:

Was there anything that bothered you about coverage when you passed Pete Rose?

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. But then when you get up to the same level or maybe even higher, they get in attack mode; they are maybe not as supportive. I kind of felt that this time.

Ichiro is on to something here. Professional athletes are far more likely to say nice things about another athlete—perhaps even willing to call their supposed rival the Hit King—if they don’t feel remotely threatened by that person’s abilities and accomplishments.

Now please read the rest of Ichiro’s interview. It’s great because he’s great.

Photo via AP