Baseball legend Ichiro Suzuki is not forgetting the fact that a single voter kept him from becoming the second unanimous Hall of Fame inductee in the sport’s history.
Suzuki, who was inducted Tuesday but fell just one vote short of unanimous approval, said at a news conference Thursday that he wanted to meet the one person who voted against him.
“I would like to invite him to my house, we will have a drink together and have a good chat,” Suzuki said through a translator.
Suzuki would have joined legendary New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera as the only other unanimous Hall of Fame inductees in MLB history.
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Former Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki throws a 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 news that Suzuki was one vote away from unanimity sparked widespread outrage from fans and media pundits on social media in the hours following the announcement.
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Former Seattle Mariners player Ichiro Suzuki speaks during his induction into 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)
Suzuki is the first Japanese player to be inducted.
Suzuki joined Major League Baseball from Japan at the age of 27 in 2001 and joined Fred Lynn in 1975 as the only players to win AL Rookie of the Year and AL MVP during the same season. Suzuki was a two-time AL batting champion and 10-time All-Star and Gold Glove outfielder, hitting .311 with 117 home runs, 780 RBIs and 509 stolen bases with the Seattle Mariners (2001-12, 2018-19) , the New York Yankees (2012-14) and Miami Marlins (2015-17).
Ichiro Suzuki before a game between the Seattle Mariners and the St. Louis Cardinals at T-Mobile Park on April 21, 2023, in Seattle. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Suzuki is perhaps the greatest contact hitter in baseball history with 1,278 hits in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and 3,089 in MLB. His combined total of 4,367 is higher than Pete Rose’s MLB record of 4,256. Suzuki recorded a record 262 hits in 2004.
CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner join Suzuki in the 2025 Hall of Fame class.
