Ichiro Suzuki Artifacts Added to Hall of Fame Collection

Eclipses one of Baseball's oldest records, held by Hall of Fame First Baseman George Sisler

Ichiro Suzuki artifacts

Artifacts from Ichiro Suzuki's 2004 season: bat used to collect his 261st and 262nd hits; elbow guard, batting gloves, wristbands, spikes, and sunglasses worn when he collected his 261st and 262nd hits; ticket stub from October 1 game, when he eclipsed George Sisler's single-season hit record.

On Friday, October 1, Seattle Mariners' outfielder Ichiro Suzuki collected his 257th, 258th, and 259th hits of the 2004 season, surpassing George Sisler's 84-year old single-season hit record. Ichiro's amazing season can now be chronicled at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, through several artifacts donated by Ichiro, including:

Bat used by Ichiro for hits #261 and #262
Wristbands worn by Ichiro for hits #261 and #262
Batting gloves worn from hits #261 and #262
Sunglasses from hits #261 and #262
Elbow guard worn for hits #261 and #262
Bat used for hit #200
Spikes worn for hits #261 and #262
Tickets from Friday's game (hits #257, 258 and 259), as well as Saturday's game (260) and Sunday's finale (261 and 262)

Learn more about Hall of Famer George Sisler and Ichiro Suzuki:

SISLER QUOTE BOOK

"They called George Harold Sisler, a picture-book performer, poetry in motion and, as the supreme accolade, the perfect player. Certainly he was a perfectionist, an athlete to whom good wasn't good enough. Sisler's standards for Sisler were so high that he considered his career to have ended, in effect, with eye trouble in 1923, even though three times thereafter he collected more than 200 hits a season and batted .326, .327 and .345." — Bob Broeg, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Sisler was the smartest hitter who ever lived. He never stopped thinking. And in the field. He was the picture player, the acme of grace and fluency." — Hall of Famer Branch Rickey

"He was lightning fast and graceful - effortless. His reflexes were unbelievable. His movements were so fast that you simply couldn't keep up with what he was doing." — Rickey on Sisler's fielding

"He was poetry in motion, the perfect player." — Hall of Famer Frank Frisch

Sisler felt his 257-hit season was better than his .420 season in 1922. In 1920, "I was meeting the ball better. The averages don't always tell the whole truth." — George Sisler

"I honestly felt sorry for the pitcher. The pitcher was out there for me to hit. I didn't look for anything except the ball." — George Sisler

Sisler had a career average of .361 through 1922, then missed a year with double vision caused by sinusitis. He came back in 1924 but wasn't the same, hitting "only" .320 the rest of his career. "I never was a real good hitter again. I know I had one .345 year and one .340 year afterward. But it isn't what I'd call real good hitting." — George Sisler

"A batter needs intelligence, first. Judgment. Confidence. The mental things. They're more important than the physical. Then comes body control, quick wrists, good eyes… You have to be a three-field hitter to hit for a good average." — George Sisler

"You don't stand in the same position in the batter's box against every pitcher…You can't step the same all the time and be a great hitter… You don't swing at a ball, you hit at it. Hitting rather than swinging will let your wrists go into action much more readily." — George Sisler

SISLER AND ICHIRO ARTIFACTS IN COOPERSTOWN

Ichiro Suzuki's bat, Mizuno, used to collect his 262nd hit of the 2004 season
Ichiro Suzuki's bat, Mizuno, used to collect his 200th hit of the 2004 season, when he became the first player to collect 200 hits in each of his first four seasons
Spikes, batting gloves, wristbands, sunglasses, and elbow guard worn by Ichiro Suzuki when he collected his 261st and 262nd hits of the 2004 season
Ticket stubs from October 1, 2004, game when Ichiro Suzuki collected his 258th hit of the season, eclipsing George Sisler's record
Ticket stubs from October 2 and October 3, 2004 games, when Ichiro Suzuki added to his single-season hit record
Ichiro Suzuki's bat, Mizuno: 33"-31 oz from 2000 season
Ichiro Suzuki's bat, Mizuno: 33"-32 oz from 2001 season
George Sisler's bat: Louisville Slugger: 36'-33 oz (S91) Louisville Slugger 36"-36 oz (S56) Spalding (1915-30): 36"-36 oz Spalding (1921-26): 34"-40 to 47 oz
Ichiro Suzuki's bat from the 2000 Orix Blue Wave season (7th consecutive batting title)
Lineup cards from April 13, 2001 when Ichiro faced Anaheim's Shigetoshi Hasegawa, and a ball from that game signed by Hasegawa
IchiroSuzuki bat from the 2001 ALCS after winning AL Rookie of the Year and MVP
George Sisler's glove from the 1920 season
Several Sisler model bats (S91) and (S56)
George Sisler-signed baseballs, both single & with others
Plaque-All-Time All-Star St. Louis team, (George Sisler) 1958

NOTES ABOUT SISLER

Ty Cobb chose Sisler as his all-time best first baseman.
As batting coach for the Pirates, Sisler tutored Roberto Clemente.
As a child Sisler was a huge fan of Walter Johnson and decided to become a pitcher. He was mainly a pitcher at the University of Michigan and started with the St. Louis Browns in 1915 as a pitcher. Two of his five major league wins were vs. Johnson, 2-1 and 1-0.
As a first baseman, he overlapped with Lou Gehrig and Jimmie Foxx, losing recognition. Played in era of Rogers Hornsby, Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth, again losing recognition.
In 1920 Sisler hit .407, the American League hit .284, his team hit .308 and the league ERA was 4.76
In 1920 season, of his 257 hits, 86 were for extra bases. He was second to Ruth in home runs, runs and RBI, and also second in doubles, triples, and steals. He struck out only 19 times in 631 at bats.
Since 1900 there have been 13 seasons of a..400 batting average. Seven came from 1920-1925. The only three players with at least two .400 seasons: Cobb (3), Hornsby (3) and Sisler (2).
A player has had as many as 235 or more hits in a season 25 times. Nineteen came before World War II. Since then the only players to achieve 235 or more hits are Rod Carew ('77), Wade Boggs ('85), Don Mattingly ('86), Darrin Erstad ('00), Ichiro Suzuki ('01 and'04). Hornsby, Sisler and Ichiro are the only players to accomplish this twice.

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