Ichiro Suzuki went 3 for 4 on Monday to bring his profe sional hit total to 4,255 just one behind Pete Roses all-time mark. (UPDATE:Wednesday, Ichiro to put himself at 4,257.)

One problem, of course: Ichiro collected 1,278 of those hits in Japan, while Rose collected all 4,256 of his in the majors. Yet some fans Laremy Tunsil Jerseys and media typescontinue to celebrate Ichiros chase for the all-time mark, as if its actually a chase at all.

Theres nothing to see here, folks, so please cool it with the hit king talk.

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As impre sive as Ichiros career has been hes almost certainly a first-ballot Hall of Famer we should be content to celebrate his contributions at the major league level, because they're . Entering TuesdayAfter Wednesday, hes 2321 hits from 3,000. Thats the number on which everyone should focus, not the concocted profe sional total that only came en vogue the past couple of seasons.

No other player has ever gotten credit for pre-MLB stats while in pursuit of any kind of career record. It feels silly to even suggest that stats collected anywhere but Major League Baseball should count toward anything, even unofficially. Itshouldnt even be in the conversation, other than perhaps as a mildly interesting footnote.

So let's not get carried away with Ichiro's next hit.Because this should be obvious: The overall talent level in Nippon Profe sional Baseballjust isn'tthe same Deshaun Watson Jerseys as in Major League Baseball. Again, this seems like it should be obvious. Yet, here we are.

Besides, padding MLB stats with pre-MLB accomplishments is a slippery slope.

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If were going to include unofficial stats in Ichiros profe sional total, weve got to tack on Roses 428 hits he collected in the minors. While were at it, go ahead and add Whitney Mercilus Jerseys Roses spring training, All-Star Game and postseason hits, too. Those were at least against (mostly) major league-quality pitchers.

And if were rewriting the record books, we've gotto give Hank Aaron credit for his 31 minor league homers, which brings his total to 786 four more than Barry Bonds total when he gets credit for his 20 non-MLB homers. Congrats on reclaiming the home run crown, Mr. Aaron.

We'll also have to rethink some Hall of Fame cases, which ... well, itwould get me sy.

The point is, lets not be silly: Major league stats are all that matter. They're all that have ever mattered. Again, this should be obvious.

Ichiro still has a long way to go to catch Rose after he gets his next hit. So far, in fact, that hes never going to get there. Rose'shit total isone of those itll-never-happen-again accomplishments, on parwith Cal Ripken's 2,632 consecutive games played andJoe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak. That type of sustained succe s at the major league level is considered all-time special because again, this should be obvious it happened at themajor league level.

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Rose took on the best and he bested the best 4,256 times.Ichiro has taken on the best and bested the best 2,979times through Wednesday.Thats outstanding, just not all-time J J Watt T Shirts great.

Itll be plenty fun to watch Ichiro chase 3,000. He'll be the 30th player in MLB history to reach it. That's plenty exclusive. Hes been a supremely talented major league hitter since 2001. We're all aware of his greatne s.

We dont need manufactured feats and false story lines to appreciate him.

This article has been updated.