Ichiro passes Pete Rose for most professional hits

With a ninth-inning double Wednesday against the San Diego Padres, Miami Marlins outfielder Ichiro Suzuki notched hit No. 4,257 - accumulated between Japan and Major League Baseball - to set the professional hit record previously held by Pete Rose.

Ichiro got his chance to set the milestone against San Diego closer Fernando Rodney after the Padres botched a double-play opportunity with one out in the ninth.

After recording the hit, Ichiro waved his helmet to the crowd at Petco Park while receiving a standing ovation from his teammates, including hitting coach Barry Bonds, who was the first to greet the hitting wizard upon his return to the dugout.

The double marks Ichiro's 2,979th knock in the majors, while 1,278 of his hits came during his playing days in Japan.

Rose has continuously said Ichiro isn't the true hit king because he didn't get all his hits in the same league. MLB doesn't recognize combined statistics, so Rose's record isn't in any jeopardy.

The only other player to amass more than 4,000 hits is Hall of Famer Ty Cobb, who collected 4,189 hits over 24 major-league seasons.

Ichiro, whose 16 seasons in the bigs was preceded by nine years in Japan, is now 21 shy of 3,000 major-league hits.

(Video courtesy: MLB.com)