Rose did not set hit record against Padres

Kev and I went to the Padres game last night in hopes of seeing Ichiro Suzuki tie the all-time world hit record. Instead Ichiro grounded softly to first base in his pinch hitting appearance. But we got to talking to a guy near us about the hit leaders setting their records against the Padres. Remember Pete Rose broke Ty Cobb’s record against the Padres in 1985. Or did he?

The longtime Season Ticket Holder reminded us of an error in counting Ty Cobb’s hit total.

Because record keeping in baseball in the early part of the 20th century wasn't up to today's standards, the American League erroneously double-counted a two-hit game by Cobb in 1910. So in actuality, Cobb finished with 4,189 hits, not the familiar number of 4,191. Major League Baseball still recognizes the 4,191 number, even though it's widely acknowledged to be inaccurate.

So Pete Rose really broke the record back on September 8th of 1985 at Wrigley Field against the Cubs instead of September 11th as it was celebrated.

Early in today’s game though, Ichiro did tie the record with a swinging bunt against the Padres. At the time of this writing has not yet broken the record.

If you're up for a debate as to who is the real “Hit King" then SB Nation has a great article that will really make you think. Rose questioned in USA Today yesterday whether he would be made into the “Hit Queen”, which prompted this from Grant Brisbee.

The controversy regarding Ichiro and Pete Rose is manufactured, and I’m in - SBNation.com

"Can you imagine? That would mean I would have ovaries and be a lesser person," Rose probably continued. "And would I have to marry Ichiro? What if I can’t sire an heir? This is all very complicated and unfair."

I don't know much about the Japanese leagues and not too interested in the debate, but I'm seriously impressed that Ichiro will get 3,000 hits in the MLB when he started at the old age of 27. Amazing.