Bob Cook

Alfonso Soriano’s $17.5 million per year contract with the Chicago Cubs looked outrageous when he signed it before this season. But with Ichiro Suzuki re-signed with Seattle for $18 million per year, the Soriano deal looks like a bargain.

That’s because Soriano is a better leadoff hitter than the celebrated Suzuki. Just as good, or better, are Grady Sizemore, Jimmy Rollins, Jose Reyes, Curtis Granderson and Brian Roberts. Corey Hart could be, if he matches his current performance over the long haul. All of these players are younger than Suzuki, who is 33.

The whooping you hear is coming from these players’ agents, jumping for joy at the realization their their guys are suddenly in the $15-25 million annual range — at least — when their contracts come up.

Ichiro is a good player, to be sure. But $90 million-over-five-years good? As a revenue generator to push Seattle Mariners product in Japan, perhaps. As a sign to desperate fans who have watched superstars such as Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr. and Randy Johnson walk away, maybe.

But as a baseball player? Not even close.

Ichiro is a perennial Gold Glove fielder. But he’s getting paid because of his reputation as among baseball’s best leadoff hitters, if not the best. But he’s good, not great. He’s Scottie Pippen, not Michael Jordan. True, he is better than most of the names listed above at getting on base. But all of the others listed above are better at getting themselves in a position to score — enough so that it pulls Suzuki back to that pack.

Ichiro has a gaudy batting average (.333 for his career), but his career on-base percentage is only .379. Good, yes, compared with most leadoff hitters, but the number also tells you he doesn’t walk much. In his career, Rickey Henderson had a batting average of only .279 — but an on-base percentage of .401. If Suzuki isn’t hitting, he’s not getting on base.

Fortunately for Ichiro, these days most of the other leadoff hitters are just as loath Ichiro draw a walk as he is. Sizemore, at .366 for his career, is the only one who comes close to Suzuki.

The problem is, Ichiro practically hits nothing but singles. A single is better than nothing, but every other comparable hitter far outstrips Ichiro when it comes to extra-base hits. Ichiro's career high in doubles is 34, set his rookie season, and more often his season double total is in the 20s. More often than not, he’s getting fewer than 10 home runs and 10 triples.

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So unless the Mariners have a fleet of power hitters behind him — as they did in 2001, the year Seattle set an AL record for victories with 116 — Ichiro is limited in his abilities as a run producer. In 2004, the year Ichiro set an AL record with 262 hits, the otherwise punchless Mariners were 63-99. Out of Ichiro's major league-record 262 hits that season, only 37 went for extra bases.

Sure, Ichiro is regularly among the league leaders in base stealers, but most of the comparable leadoff hitters are swiping 15 or more bases per year — as well as recording more extra-base hits.

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