Ichiro's career

[Jeritron]

A) Do you think he should make the HOF?

B) Do you think he will make the HOF?

C) Should his Japanese league stats and accomplishments count?


I heard this being discussed on the radio today, and the panel was split on all the issues.

I think he should be a shoe-in, given the fact that he has been absolutely incredible during his time in MLB.
However, that time has been relatively short, and at the age of 35, may not last much longer.
His career average is incredible, but what stands out most to me is his hit total. He's accumulated well over 1,000 hits by now. In fact, he's closer to 2,000.
I can only imagine where it would be if he entered the league at a younger age.

With him, though, I feel the "what if his American career lasted longer" argument is more valid. Normally, that can be dismissed as invalid.
But with him, he was playing in Japan.
So, should his statistics there count? The major argument against that would be that the HOF should only reflect MLB statistics.
This is debatable I'd say. It is the "Baseball" Hall of Fame.

Also, how valid is the league? It's obvious that it's not on the same level as MLB.

Discuss.