Ichiro's legacy cheated by Japanese hardball

Ichiro didn't reach the major leagues until he was 27. For lots of players, that's acceptable. For the best of the best, it's seven or eight years too late. Alex Rodriguez debuted at age 18. Ken Griffey Jr. was 19. Bonds and Albert Pujols were 21.

When Ichiro was 20 he debuted in the Japanese major leagues -- and won the batting title. Then he won another, and another, and so on until he had won seven batting titles in seven years. Only then was he allowed, under Japan's archaic and quasi-communist "posting" system, to leave for the United States.

Imagine if we'd had Ichiro since his early 20s. He'd be bearing down on Pete Rose as the most prolific hitter of all time. Seven years into his U.S. career, Ichiro has nearly 1,600 hits. That's 228 per season, and at that rate he would reach Rose's mark of 4,256 in 19 years. Let's say Ichiro spent three years in Japan, then came here at age 23. He could have topped Rose at age 42, a plausible proposition given the maniacal way Ichiro takes care of himself. He turns 34 next month, and is hitting .350.

Ichiro's career .333 average ranks "only" 25th all time, but the game has changed so much that only two players ahead of him played since World War II -- Ted Williams (.344) and Tony Gwynn (.338). The powerful Williams is clearly a better all-around hitter, but baseball also is played on the field and on the base paths, two areas where Williams was mediocre at best. His career fielding average is below average, and he stole a total of 24 bases. (Gwynn was a much better fielder and speed threat, but no match for Ichiro in either area.)

In 2001 Ichiro became the first player since Jackie Robinson to win the batting and steals titles in the same season. In 2004 he broke the single-season hits record of George Sisler with 262. In 2007 he set the record for consecutive steals with 45. At some point he will retire and be inducted into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. But he'll never be mentioned as highly among the all-time greats as he deserves because of his wasted -- yes, wasted -- years in Japan.

Weird things happen in the Far East, and NBA rookie Yi Jianlian is another case in point. Yi, the Milwaukee Bucks' first-round pick this season, thought he and his agent could manipulate the U.S. system and dictate where he would play this season. Similar silliness had taken place in 2002 when Yao Ming entered the NBA draft, and the Shanghai Sharks had "demanded" that Yao be taken only by a team that could compete for a championship within a few seasons.

Whatever. China -- its communist government, its self-important basketball league, its hidden stockpile of basketball talent -- doesn't dictate to American sports.

But Japan still does. Japanese baseball, anyway. And at a cost: the coronation of the greatest all-around baseball player since the Babe.