My initial interest in 3,000 career hits in Major League Baseball was sparked by Stan Musial (who died in 2013 at the age of 92). My interest in 3,000 career hits grew stronger, and I became interested in their relationship to single-year hits, thanks to Al Simmons (who died in 1956 at the age of 54). And with the move of our Japanese hero, Ichiro, to Major League Baseball, my interest in the relationship between 3,000 career hits and single-year hits increased even further.

Since 1901, when the modern era of Major League Baseball began, eight players have achieved a batting average of .400 a total of 13...