It was all foolproof Ichiro Suzuki He will be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday night. The only question is whether his election will be unanimous.
One timid voice came, He received 99.7% of the votes After 394 baseball writers sent out ballots.
It's the same total Derek Jeter received when he was one vote away from being unanimously selected in 2020.
Mariano Rivera remains the only player in MLB history to be elected unanimously, receiving 100% of the vote in 2019.
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Former Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki throws the ball into the dugout before throwing out the first pitch in a game against the Houston Astros at T-Mobile Park. (Joe Nicholson/USA Today Sports)
The voting process was always suspicious, but the reactions were not pleasant.
“Please step forward, you idiot,” New York Post writer and Hall of Fame voter John Heyman wrote about X.
Added Sports writer Chris Kirshner“So stupid.”
San Francisco Chronicle writer Susan Slusser He described the near-miss as “disturbing.”
peer Seattle Mariners Legendary Ken Griffey Jr. received three votes shy in 2016.
But the good news for Ichiro is that he will be forever honored in Cooperstown this summer and is the first Japanese-born player elected to the Hall of Fame.
Ichiro joined the majors in 2001 as a highly touted Japanese outfielder, hitting .353 over his nine seasons in his home country, winning three MVP titles and being a seven-time All-Star. He joined the Mariners at age 28 and quickly lived up to the hype, winning the AL MVP award and helping the Mariners that year to a record 116 wins.
Seattle Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki waves to fans after a game against the Oakland Athletics at Tokyo Dome. (Darren Yamashita/USA Today Sports)
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From 2001 to 2010, Ichiro was named an All-Star every season while also winning a Gold Glove Award every year. In that span, he won three Silver Slugger Awards and two batting titles while hitting a .331 average and an .806 OPS. In 2004, he set the single-season record with 262 hits, and is the only player in MLB history to record 10 consecutive 200-plus hit seasons. He has also stolen over 500 bases and is one of only seven players to record 3,000 hits and 500 stolen bases.
After his 11th MLB game, his career average never again dipped below .300. He retired with a .311 average, 3,089 hits, and 60.0 WAR. In the live ball era (since 1920), he is one of only 21 players to have at least 10 .300 batting seasons (among qualified hitters) and only one of seven players to do so for 10 consecutive years. Ichiro spent most of his career with the Mariners, with stops with the Yankees and Marlins.
Former Seattle Mariners player Ichiro Suzuki speaks during his Mariners Hall of Fame induction ceremony before a game between the Seattle Mariners and Cleveland Guardians at T-Mobile Park. (Steven Bisig/USA Today Sports)
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Joining Ichiro in this year's class are pitchers CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner.
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