Thinking about two great hitters, Helton and Ichiro

I think it's safe to say that Todd Helton is a great hitter. He just tallied his 2,000th hit in his 13th season in the majors. In only two of the previous 12 seasons has his batting average dipped below .300 -- 1997, his first season in the big leagues, when he played in only 35 games and 2008 when he played in only 83 games due to injury. Helton's lifetime batting average is .328. Despite consistently hitting for high average, Helton has collected over 200 hits in a season only twice -- 2000 (216) and 2003 (209).

Ichiro is a hit machine. Baseball hasn't seen anything like him since Pete Rose. He has never finished a season below the .300 mark (.303 in 2005 is his lowest season batting average to date). Similar to Helton, Ichiro's lifetime batting average is .330. Ichiro, however, in his 8 full major league seasons has never finished with less than 206 hits, and has reached the realm of 262 and 242 in 2004 and 2001 respectively. Ichiro currently has 1,851 hits and if his current streak of 200-hit seasons continues he will reach the 2,000 hit mark before the end of the 2009 season. 2,000 hits in 9 seasons, what a feat! He is destined for the Hall of Fame.