Ichiro

In the past nine seasons, Ichiro Suzuki led the league for six seasons while coming in second the remainder three seasons. He has had a combined 2030 hits in nine seasons--undoubtedly the highest number of hits this decade, yet he has not been honored with an MVP award since his rookie year in 2001.

Even when Ichiro batted an amazing .372 with 262 hits--he was not awarded the MVP. And today, there are fans that make a claim that he is not worth his current contract (the extension of 5 years 90 million dollars). Ichiro has not only been one of the best table-setters in the game but he has also become a complete player on the field.

He has won a Gold Glove Award every year he has been in the Major League Baseball, and he has also been selected into the All-Star game every single year. He currently holds the single-season record with 262 hits and is one of the most admirable players because he does all the small things.

He has hit a career total of 84 homeruns. Deion Sanders hit almost half as many homeruns as Ichiro!

What distinguishes Ichiro from all the other players, is not just his running swings--but also his uncanny ability to play defense. He has a total of 82 outfield assists in his career and has moved around int the outfield quite a bit.

The most essential players on the club are not the ones that can clear the bases but the ones that can put their team in the position to win. Ichiro is the epitome of a team player. Which raises a greater question, would you rather have a player that will get you hits or a player that is focused on the longball--obviously having a player that can do both is ideal, but I'm asking in terms of either having Suzuki or Ryan Howard?

Of course, both players play different positions but in terms of batting--who would you rather have?