During the gestation period for the place that would become baseball’s sacred shrine, Time Magazine, the New York Times and other periodicals referred to it as the “Baseball Hall of Fame.” Then, when the stately brick building housing the Hall officially opened in 1939,
Ichiro Suzuki has become the first Japanese player to make it to baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani is likely to be the next.
Players are elected to the Hall of Fame provided they are named on at least 75% of ballots cast by eligible voting members of the BBWAA. With 394 ballots submitted in the 2025 election, candidates needed to receive 296 votes to be elected.
Ichiro Suzuki's career was full of hitting streaks, All-Star Games and Gold Glove awards. But all that paled compared to moments with fans like his farewell at the Tokyo Dome in 2019, he said.
Ichiro Suzuki falling one vote short of unanimous election raised eyebrows, but it’s far from the biggest flub in Hall of Fame voting history.
Ichiro Suzuki wants to raise a glass with the voter who chose not to check off his name on the Hall of Fame ballot.
The first time Seattle Mariners fans saw Ichiro Suzuki was April 2, 2001, on Opening Day against the Oakland Athletics at what was then known as Safec
Yankees legend Hideki Matsui played seven seasons for the Yankees. It wasn’t until his final one, in 2009, with the addition of lefty ace CC Sabathia, that he managed to get that elusive World Series ring.
To this point, only famed Yankee closer Mariano Rivera has been elected to the Hall of Fame unanimously — not Babe Ruth, not Hank Aaron, not Ken Griffey Jr. nor Derek Jeter, just Rivera. Could Suzuki be the second?
The trio of stars, each of whom spent part of their career in New York, will be inducted in Cooperstown on July 27.
Ichiro Suzuki is the first Japanese-born player voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He'll be joined by CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner in the Class of 2025.