2010 Milestones a Mixed Bag

The Baseball Hall of Fame has a poll up on its Website, asking which of four milestones you are most looking forward to seeing this year.  The candidates:

• Ichiro Suzuki’s 10th 200-hit season
• Alex Rodriguez’s 600th home run (17 away)
• Trevor Hoffman’s 600th save (nine away)
• Juan Pierre’s 500th stolen base (41 away)

Anyone care to play “which does not belong?”

What Ichiro has done in the States is nothing short of amazing.  Start with breaking George Sisler’s 84-year-old single-season hit record in ‘04, and now you look up and he’s been putting up 200+ hits for nine years.  This is after his nine-year career in Japan.  And at 35, he had one of his best seasons in 2009.  Insane.

ARod’s 600th was once thought to be a century mark on the way to maybe 800-plus, and he may yet get there, although he’d have to hit 30 a year for seven more years for the Yankees.  And with last year’s steroids revelations, and the general lack of acceptance of “steroid era” home run totals, maybe fans might not be as interested or excited.  You can bet the YES Network will be, though.

Hoffman is the all-time saves leader, and what he’s accomplished has been great.  Sports Illustrated once anointed him the best closer ever (think they might need to revisit that?).  But saves are a funny stat:  some are much easier than others, and the “tough” saves in the biggest situations have sometimes eluded Hoffman.  I recall Scott Brosius taking him over the wall in Game 3 in the ‘98 series and the Padres’ painful season-ending loss to the Brewers which knocked them out of the playoffs in ‘07.  There’s the All-Star game in ‘06 also, for a third high-profile blown save.  I respect his Hall of Fame career, but maybe not the milestone save numbers.

The most (only) interesting thing about Pierre’s milestone is that I would never have thought he had close to that many steals.  Otherwise, there must not be too many other round numbers within reach this year for this to make the list.

I voted for the Ichiro accomplishment, though I think Rodriguez’s chase for 600 will get more fanfare.

Go here to cast your ballot (free registration required).