It was all but guaranteed that Ichiro Suzuki would be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame Tuesday night. The only question was whether his election would be unanimous.
He came up one vote shy, receiving 99.7% of the vote after 394 baseball writers sent in ballots.
It’s the same total Derek Jeter received when he was one vote shy of unanimous selection in 2020.
Mariano Rivera remains the only player in MLB history unanimously elected, receiving 100% of the vote in 2019.
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Former Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki tosses a ball to the dugout before throwing out the first pitch for a game against the Houston Astros at T-Mobile Park. (Joe Nicholson/USA Today Sports)
The voting has always been suspect, but the reactions were not pleasant.
“Please step forward, you numbskull,” New York Post writer and Hall of Fame voter Jon Heyman wrote on X.
Added The Athletic writer Chris Kirschner, “So moronic.”
San Francisco Chronicle writer Susan Slusser called the near miss “upsetting.”
Fellow Seattle Mariners legend Ken Griffey Jr. came up three votes shy in 2016.
The good news for Ichiro, though, is that he will be forever enshrined in Cooperstown this summer and is the first Japanese-born player to be elected to the Hall of Fame.
Ichiro joined the majors in 2001 as a highly touted Japanese prospect, hitting .353 during his nine seasons in his home country, where he won three MVPs and was a seven-time All-Star. Joining the Mariners at age 28, he immediately lived up to the hype, winning the AL MVP and helping that year’s Mariners team 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 in each season while also winning a Gold Glove Award every year. In that span, he won three Silver Slugger Awards and two batting titles while putting up a .331 average and .806 OPS. In 2004, he set the all-time single-season record with 262 hits, and he’s the only player in MLB history to register 10 straight 200-plus hit seasons. He also stole over 500 bases and is one of just seven players to record 3,000 hits and 500 stolen bases.
After just his 11th MLB game, his career average never again dipped below .300. He retired with a .311 average, 3,089 hits, and a 60.0 WAR. In the live ball era (since 1920), he is one of just 21 players with at least 10 seasons of hitting .300 (among qualified hitters) and only one of seven to do it 10 straight years. Ichiro spent the majority of his career with the Mariners, making stops with the Yankees and Marlins.
Former Seattle Mariners player Ichiro Suzuki speaks during his induction ceremony for the Mariners Hall of Fame before a game between the Seattle Mariners and the 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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