Japan praises Ichiro Suzuki for record 10th straight 200-hit season

Former teammates, coaches praise Suzuki’s record

TOKYO — Ichiro Suzuki has received praise in Japan for his record 10th straight 200-hit season.

Suzuki became the first Major League Baseball player with 10 consecutive 200-hit seasons, breaking his own record with a single to center in the fifth inning of Seattle’s 1-0 loss Thursday to the Toronto Blue Jays.

The mass circulation Asahi Shimbun newspaper printed a four-page special edition that was handed out at train stations and intersections in downtown Tokyo on Friday.

Japanese home run king Sadaharu Oh said, “He is a source of pride and courage for the Japanese people.” Oh coached Suzuki at the 2006 World Baseball Classic.

Ichiro’s father Nobuyuki said his son went to the batting cage every day in grade school.