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ROSE MYTH #4: Ichiro gained extra hits from playing against weaker pitching in Japan.
TRUTH: Ichiro LOST about 50 hits per year from playing in Japan’s 130-game schedule.
He averaged 227 hits in his first seven seasons with the Seattle Mariners, but only 177 hits in his first seven full seasons with the Orix Blue Wave.
Did Ichiro’s Japan batting average benefit from weaker pitching? Yes: By about 26 points.
In his first seven full seasons with Orix he batted an incredible .359, compared to .333 in his next seven with the Mariners.
However, this dip was trumped by MLB’s 162 game schedule which increased his yearly average of at-bats from 494 to 682.
Over those seven years in Japan, Ichiro lost about 1316 at-bats – enough at-bats for two major league seasons.