Ichiro Suzuki wants to sit down and talk to the Hall of Fame voter who kept him from being a unanimous inductee
A baseball legend Ichiro Suzuki he doesn’t overlook the fact that one voter kept him from becoming the second unanimous Hall of Fame inductee in sports history.
Suzuki, which one was introduced Tuesday, but fell just one vote shy of a unanimous vote, said during a news conference Thursday that he wanted to meet with the one person who voted against him.
“I would like to invite him to my house, we will have a drink and have a good talk,” Suzuki said through a translator.
Suzuki would join legendary New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera as the only unanimous Hall of Famers in MLB history.
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Former Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki throws the ball to the out before throwing out the first pitcher for the game against the Houston Astros at T-Mobile Park. (Joe Nicholson/USA Today Sports)
News that Suzuki was shy of being unanimously encouraged widespread anger from fans and media pundits on social media in the hours after the announcement.
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Former Seattle Mariners shortstop Ichiro Suzuki speaks during the Mariners Hall of Fame induction before the game between the Seattle Mariners and the Cleveland Guardians at T-Mobile Park. (Steven Bisig/USA Today Sports)
Suzuki is the first player from Japan to be accepted.
Suzuki moved to Major League Baseball from Japan as a 27-year-old in 2001 and joined Fred Lynn in 1975 as the only players to win AL Rookie of the Year and AL MVP in the same season. Suzuki was a two-time AL batting champion and 10-time All-Star and Gold Glove outfielder, hitting .311 with 117 homers, 780 RBI and 509 stolen bases with the Seattle Mariners (2001-12, 2018-19) , New York Yankees (2012-14) and Miami Marlins (2015-17).
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Ichiro Suzuki before the game between Seattle Mariners and St. Louis Cardinals at T-Mobile Park on April 21, 2023 in Seattle. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Suzuki may be the best contact hitter in baseball history with 1,278 hits in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and 3,089 in MLB. His combined total of 4367 is more than Pete Rose’s MLB record of 4256. In 2004, Suzuki had a career-high 262 hits.
CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner join Suzuki in 2025 Hall of Fame class.
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