Hits record Asterisk or not?

[leith]

So if Ichiro gets the single season Hits record should it have an asterisk next to it. The asterisk would be for a 162 game season as opposed to the 144 game season Sisler set the record in.

[Mark]

Absolutely

Gotta defend my St. Louis boys!

[Drew_Kingsley]

George Sisler got 257 hits in a 154 game season.  That averages out to roughly 1.6688 hits per team game.  Using that logic, whomever holds the record deserves the big asterisk until somebody gets 271 hits in a season.

For the curious 257 hits today is the equivalent of 244 hits in a 154 game season.  For the even more curious, here is the all time top-ten in hits per team game (statistical source: http://www.baseballreference.com).

1. George Sisler (1920) - 1.6688
2. Lefty O\'Doul (1929) - 1.64935
--. Bill Terry (1930) - 1.64935
4. Al Simmons (1925) - 1.64285
5. Rogers Hornsby (1922) - 1.6234
--. Chuck Klein (1930) - 1.6234
7. Ty Cobb (1911) - 1.6104
8. George Sisler (1922) - 1.5974
9. Babe Herman (1930) - 1.5649
--. Heinie Manush (1928) - 1.5649

Ichiro\'s 242 hits in 2001 totals a mere 1.4938 hits per team game, which is good enough for a place in the top 30.

Drew "Wolfman in Training" Kingsley

[leith]

Thanx Drew I had a mistype it was 154 games.

[oldnewbie]

the whole asterik thing was put to bed with roger maris

[oldnewbie]

how many black,hispanic or japanese pitchers did sisler hit against.....theres the asterik....should we discount all records before jackie robinson?has anyone come even close to ichiro in a 162 game season. pete rose was never even close to this. save the asterisks for first time played on the set list.

[Drew_Kingsley]

Originally posted by oldnewbie
has anyone come even close to ichiro in a 162 game season

The closest is Ichiro himself in 2001 with 242 hits.

Top 10 in a 162-game season

1. Ichiro Suzuki (2004) 256 hits (so far)
2. Ichiro Suzuki (2001) 242 hits
3. Wade Boggs (1985) 240 hits
--. Darrin Erstad (2000) 240 hits
5. Rod Carew (1977) 239 hits
6. Don Mattingly (1986) 238 hits
7. Kirby Puckett (1988) 234 hits
8. Matty Alou (1969) 231 hits
9. Tommy Davis (1962) 230 hits
--. Pete Rose (1973) 230 hits
--. Joe Torre (1971) 230 hits
--. Willie Wilson (1980) 230 hits

There you have it.  Ichiro is the undisputed hit king of the last 40 years.  But I\'m still a strong believer in the asterisk.  I can\'t look at a stat that has been unfairly (in my opinion) inflated.  It\'s like a company saying that it has earned money from 1920 - 2004 because the value of the dollar went up.  Maybe I should be a math major.

[colinh9]

Nah no *. I think everything evens up. A season is a season.

[Wolfman]

Sisler had to hit against far less athletic pitchers and defenses.  He also hit in fields that were as far as 475 feet to center and usually 400+ feet to right and left.  While this creates less home runs, I think it actually creates more hits because the outfielders had a lot more turf to cover.  Ichiro had more games and had guys bulked up on steroids to hit behind him.  It all breaks even.  No asterisk.

[Drew_Kingsley]

Out of curiousity, what was the official verdict by Major League Baseball?

[ChrisPitch]

The record belongs to Ichiro. And I vote NO, as in NO he gets no *