Sorry for the lag. I just graduated from college (got a job for me?) and I was down in LA/Las Vegas with my buddies. We even ran into some celebrities!

Anyway, David Pinto over at Baseball Musings has created a nifty little tool that allows you to compare players over extended periods of time. So, for example, you can compare players and see who had the best April in 1997. I chose to look at what Ichiro! has done since his debut 4 years ago, and it blew me away!
Ichiro! has 924 hits since joining the Mariners. From 2001 to 2004, this ranks Ichiro! first in hits BY A MILE! The next closest is Juan Pierre (who the Mariners drafted...twice!) with 797.
If you go back and look at hit totals from 2000-2004, Ichiro! still ranks 3rd, behind Todd Helton and Derek Jeter. And if you look at the hit totals from 1999-2004 (basically giving everyone else a 2-year head start), Ichiro! ranks 38th, ahead of Pudge Rodriguez, Adrian Beltre, Nomar Garciaparra, Scott Rolen, Jim Thome, Edgar Martinez and Barry Bonds.
The man is truly amazing.