Baseball: Ichiro, from 27-year-old rookie to 3,000-hit club

The remarkable Ichiro Suzuki, who blazed a trail for Japanese players in Major League Baseball with high-average hitting, dazzling speed and a rifle throwing arm, underlined his Hall of Fame credentials by joining the 3,000-hit club on Sunday. The first MLB position player from Japan to play regular in the majors, the superb outfielder known simply as Ichiro on Sunday reserved his place in Cooperstown when he became the 30th major leaguer to reach the milestone. Already a member of Japanese baseball's Hall of Fame (The Golden Players Club) after nine seasons, Ichiro carved out a second Hall of Fame career on the major league stage over the next 16 campaigns.

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