Ichiro on Pete Rose: "I was actually happy to see the Hit King get defensive"

Ichiro Suzuki Career Highlights

With Ichiro Suzuki just two hits away from notching his 3,000th in the majors, we"re starting to see more and more feature stories roll in. The latest comes via ESPN the Magazine, and features Ichiro doing something unexpected: going at Pete Rose.

In fact, Ichiro states that he was "actually happy" to see Rose defensive over the "Hit King" title controversy. Here"s Ichiro"s reasoning:

"I was actually happy to see the Hit King get defensive. I kind of felt I was accepted. I heard that about five years ago Pete Rose did an interview, and he said that he wished that I could break that record. Obviously, this time around it was a different vibe.

In the 16 years that I have been here, what I"ve noticed is that in America, when people feel like a person is below them, not just in numbers but in general, they will kind of talk you up. But then when you get up to the same level or maybe even higher, they get in attack mode; they are maybe not as supportive. I kind of felt that this time."

Whoever has your heart as the real "Hit King," you have to concede Ichiro has a point here. There"s a very human tendency to get defensive and petty toward those who are on the same or a higher level.

Rose -- perhaps spurred by Ichiro"s more favorable standing among fans and the press -- seemingly feels that Ichiro is a threat to his legacy. That probably explains why Rose has felt the need to get snippy about Ichiro"s accomplishments -- and why Ichiro felt the need to brush off his comments publicly.

Source: http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/ichiro-on-pete-rose-i-was-actually-happy-to-see-the-hit-king-get-defensive/