Seattle Mariners legend Ichiro Suzuki was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday night. After a tremendous professional career in Japan and the United States, he secured enough votes in his first year on the ballot. There was no doubt Ichiro would enter the Hall in one try but would he be unanimous?
Ichiro missed unanimous status by one single vote, receiving 295 votes. This is similar to Derek Jeter's run on the ballot. The Yankees shortstop got in on the first try with all but one vote in 2020. Suzuki piled up 3,089 hits over his MLB career, which did not start until he was 27 years old.
The Mariners had Ichiro for the first 12.5 years of his career. In those seasons, he appeared in 10 All-Star Games, won 10 Gold Gloves, three Silver Sluggers, and one MVP. That run started in 2001, when the Mariners won more regular-season games than any team in baseball history, 116.
Ichiro is the first Japanese-born player to enter the Hall of Fame. He was a trailblazer for superstars from his country and certainly will not be the last. Shohei Ohtani just passed him to become the greatest Japanese home-run hitter in MLB history.
Ichiro is joined by pitchers CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner in the Class of 2025. Sabathia was also on the ballot for the first time and made it convincingly. He racked up over 3,000 strikeouts over his career. Wagner was a much different story, making it on his last turn on the ballot. But the former Astros and Mets closer will join the Cooperstown crew.
The 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame inductions will take place on July 27 in Cooperstown, NY. Ichiro, Sabathia, and Wagner will be enshrined among the 346 current members of the hall.