Ichiro Suzuki is heading to the Hall of Fame - but he fell one vote short of history. The Japanese outfielder is one of three players announced Tuesday as part of the 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame class.
Ichiro joins fellow Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. (No. 24) and Edgar Martinez (No. 11), along with Jackie Robinson (No. 42) as the only players to have their number retired by the Mariners. In a pregame ceremony on Aug. 9, Ichiro's No. 51 will officially be hung up for good.
Ichiro Suzuki was among the few Japanese players who transitioned well from Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball to Major League Baseball.
Ichiro Suzuki, the dominant contact hitter whose 19 years in the major leagues, most of them with the Seattle Mariners, was lined with records and accolades, on Tuesday became the first Asian player elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame.
Ichiro Suzuki and CC Sabathia were elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America on Tuesday. Billy Wagner also received enough votes to round out the 2025 Hall of Fame class. Results were unveiled in an election show on MLB Network.
Players are elected to the Hall of Fame provided they are named on at least 75% of ballots cast by eligible voting members of the BBWAA. With 394 ballots submitted in the 2025 election, candidates needed to receive 296 votes to be elected.
In Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner, the Baseball Writers Association delivered quite an eclectic trifecta to Cooperstown on Tuesday. The first Japanese player ever elected to the Hall of Fame,
Ichiro Suzuki is the first Japanese-born player voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He'll be joined by CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner in the Class of 2025.
The trio will be inducted into the Hall at Cooperstown on July 27 along with Dave Parker and Dick Allen, voted in last month by the classic era committee.
Ichiro missed out on unanimous induction by a single vote, as the BBWAA continues to be its own worst enemy.
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