Willie Mays can probably rest easy. It does not appear that Alex Rodriguez will catch Mays in career home runs (HR) this season.
Derek Jeter and Ichiro Suzuki both appear to be finished as players in the U.S. Major Baseball League (MBL) and Rodriguez can continue next season only if he can get his legs to cooperate. Rodriguez also faces possible suspension, which would preclude him from playing in Japan.
But let's suppose that Rodriguez is allowed to play in Japan next season as part of a plea agreement with the MBL and that Jeter and Suzuki also decide that discretion is the better part of valor and also play in Japan. Can all three take their professional totals with them and become the all time leaders in Japan by adding up all the numbers?
I won't do the arithmetic here but would baseball people in Japan accept that concept? For instance, add up Jeter's hits in the minor leagues here and in the MBL and whatever he can attain by finishing his career in Japan. Suppose that his total number of hits exceeds the current record in Japan, what ever that is. Would Jeter then be acknowledged as the hit king, at least in Japan?
Suppose that Suzuki does that? I'm guessing that Suzuki would definitely be seen as the hit king.
Suppose that Rodriguez sets new records for Runs scored, Runs Batted In (RBI) and for HR, both single season and career? Rodriguez might adapt well to the smaller ball parks in Japan where his long drives, hit only with his arms but not his legs, might carry into the seats instead of being caught on the warning track as has been happening in recent seasons here.
And if any of that were accepted in Japan, how would we react here in the USA?
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