Ichiro Suzuki has been voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, it was announced on Tuesday. The former Seattle Mariners star is making history as the first Japanese player to ever be inducted into the Hall.
While there was plenty to celebrate with Suzuki’s induction, fans were upset about one aspect: Ichiro failed to make it in unanimously by one vote. Suzuki was voted for on 393 out of 394 possible ballots. Everyone was upset with the one voter who left Suzuki off their ballot and wondering who wouldn’t vote for the 10-time All-Star.
WHO’S THE ONE PERSON WHO DIDN’T HAVE ICHIRO ON THEIR HOF BALLOT ??? pic.twitter.com/iQ6FBMx0vM
— 𝐀𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 ♛ (@Igotburners) January 21, 2025
The one voter that didn’t have Ichiro on his ballot pic.twitter.com/GegekIdHtN
— Barstool Baseball (@StoolBaseball) January 21, 2025
@ that one voter who left Ichiro off his ballot pic.twitter.com/OIuSTUyFRA
— Jared McCann Fanboy (@welovetyfrance) January 21, 2025
WHOEVER DIDN'T VOTE FOR ICHIRO NEEDS TO GET HIS BALLOT REVOKED https://t.co/2atHHtsXZz
— KP (@KevinPawell23) January 21, 2025
Ichiro received 99.7 percent of the vote. One voter chose to keep him off their ballot. So moronic.
— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) January 21, 2025
Suzuki received 99.7 percent of the possible votes. Each voter can cast a vote for up to 10 players, and a player needs to receive a vote from at least 75 percent of the voters in order to make it in. The only player to be a unanimous selection is Mariano Rivera, who went 425/425.
Joining Suzuki in the 2025 Hall of Fame class are CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner. Wagner made it with 82.5 percent of the vote in his 10th and final year on the ballot. Sabathia made it with 86.8 percent of the vote on his first ballot.
The case for Ichiro really should be open-and-shut. He came over to MLB in 2001 at the age of 27 and led the league in batting average (.350), hits (242) and stolen bases (56) that season, while winning both AL MVP and AL Rookie of the Year. He quickly proved what a wizard he is with the bat. He made 10 straight All-Star teams, won 10 straight Gold Glove awards, two batting titles, and he led the league in hits seven times. Ichiro had a lifetime .311 batting average and over 3,000 hits in MLB despite spending the first nine years of his career in Japan. If you don’t think Suzuki belongs in the Hall of Fame or on the first ballot, you have some problems.
