Ichiro Suzuki elected to Baseball Hall of Fame, one vote shy of unanimous

Former Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki made history as the first Japanese player to earn induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame, but fell just one vote shy of being a unanimous selection.

Suzuki was named on 393 out of 394 total votes from this year's voting class by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. 

New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera is the only player to be named on every ballot, earning all 425 votes in 2019. Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter was one vote short of unanimous in 2020, and Griffey was three votes shy in 2016. Jeter was on 396 of 397 ballots for the 2020 class.

By the numbers:

A player needs 75 percent of the total vote from the Baseball Writers Association of America panel to earn induction to the Hall of Fame.

Suzuki became the ninth former Mariner to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, and the fourth who spent the majority of his career in Seattle. He joins Ken Griffey Jr., Randy Johnson and Edgar Martínez as long-time Mariners to earn induction into the Hall of Fame.

Suzuki is joined in this year's class by starting pitcher C.C. Sabathia (CLE, MIL, NYY), and closer Billy Wagner (HOU, NYM, PHI, ATL, BOS). Additionally, Dave Parker and Dick Allen were voted in by the Hall of Fame's classic era committee last month.

This year’s induction will take place on Sunday, July 27 at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, NY.

The backstory:

Suzuki was a two-time American League batting champion (2001, 2004), and 10-time Gold Glove Award winner (2001-10). During his 19-year MLB career with the Mariners, Yankees and Miami Marlins, Suzuki hit .311 with 117 homers, 780 RBI and 509 stolen bases. He’s one of just 33 players in MLB history with 3,000 career hits, racking up 3,089 for his career.

While the Hall of Fame mostly deals with careers played in Major League Baseball, there’s no discounting Suzuki’s storied career in Japan before making the move to Seattle in 2001. He played nine seasons in Japan for the Orix Blue Wave, batting .353 with 118 home runs, 529 RBI, and 199 stolen bases. Ichiro has 4,367 hits combined over the two leagues over 28 seasons played. Suzuki didn't make the move to the U.S. until he was already 27 years old.

Ichiro's 4,367 hits across both leagues is higher than Pete Rose's MLB record of 4,256, and includes a single-season record 262 hits in 2004.

Félix Hernández earns 20.6% of the vote

Félix Hernández did not make it into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. However, he did comfortably receive enough votes to remain on the ballot into the future. Players must receive at least five percent of the vote in order to remain under consideration in future years.

Hernández played his entire 15-year career with the Mariners. He was a six-time All-Star and won the American League Cy Young Award in 2010, with runner-up finishes in 2009 and 2014.

Hernández is one of just five pitchers with 2,500-plus strikeouts and 2,500-plus innings pitched for only one franchise, joined by Hall of Famers Walter Johnson (Washington), Bob Gibson (St. Louis) and Bob Feller (Cleveland), and future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw (LA Dodgers).

Adrián Beltré, Rickey Henderson, Rich "Goose" Gossage, Dick Williams and Gaylord Perry are the other five players who once played for the Mariners to be elected to the Hall of Fame.

The Source: Original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle and information from The Associated Press.

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