Chicago Cubs Seiya Suzuki makes history on Wednesday

There were plenty of storylines to follow in the Cubs’ 23-3 drubbing of the Padres at Wrigley Field on Wednesday afternoon. While arguably the brightest spotlight was on Dansby Swanson for his first-career three-homer game, it was Seiya Suzuki who made history.

In the first inning, Suzuki hit a three-run shot deep into the left-center bleachers. It was Suzuki’s 100th career home run, making him the fourth Japanese-born player to reach the 100-homer mark in the Majors. He joins Shohei Ohtani, Hideki Matsui, and Ichiro in that club. He also became the 27th Cub to reach the 100+ home run club.

SAVE THAT BASEBALL!

Seiya crushes career home run No. 100! pic.twitter.com/qYOhC1u6lS

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 1, 2026

An impressive feat for Seiya Suzuki

The Cubs signed Suzuki out of Japan before the 2022 season on a five-year, $85 million deal. He’s made between $18-$21 million a year since 2023. It has turned out to be a great deal, with 100 homers, a .269/.347/.471 slash, and an .818 OPS so far in 603 games.

As of July 1st, 2026, there have been 62 Japanese-born players who have taken an at bat in the Major Leagues all-time. 13 of them had at least 1,000 at bats. For Suzuki to be one of just four at this point to hit 100+ homers is a remarkable feat. He is also in the top five all-time among Japanese-born players in slugging and RBI (338). The only Japanese-born hitter with a higher slug than Suzuki with at least 500 MLB games played is Ohtani.

It is a bit crazy to think Suzuki has yet to make an All Star team. It feels like he is just on the outside looking in at the “legit star” bubble as a hitter. He will put up some darn good numbers. But his rough in-season slumps prevent him from crossing that “legit star” line. Though the line is arbitrary, he’s come up just inches short of the 140+ wRC+ and .850+ OPS marks that one could argue are the threshold.

Nonetheless, what Suzuki has accomplished as a player has been so good, and it should be revered. All Star or not.

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