Ichiro Suzuki becomes first Asian player elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

Ichiro Suzuki, the dominant contact hitter whose 19 years in the major leagues, most with the Seattle Mariners, were marked by records and accolades, on Tuesday became the first Asian player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame .

He received 99.7% of the vote, missing a unanimous selection by one vote. New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, inducted in 2019, remains the only Hall of Famer to score 100%.

Ichiro joins starting pitcher CC Sabathia and relief pitcher Billy Wagner as part of the 2025 class headed to Cooperstown, New York.

Ichiro debuted with the Mariners in 2001, becoming the first Japanese player to join Major League Baseball. That season, he won the American League MVP and Rookie of the Year awards.

He went on to be a 10-time All Star and won 10 Gold Glove awards for outstanding defense, as well as three Silver Slugger awards for his elite batting. Ichiro earned a reputation as an exceptional hitter (with a career .311 batting average) and formidable right fielder who, even at 5-foot-9, was known for scaling the outfield walls to steal home runs.

Ichiro has accumulated 3,089 hits in MLB after previously playing nine years in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball League. Combining his hits in both leagues, he had 4,367 hits during his professional career, the most by any player in baseball history.

Ichiro told NBC News in a 2022 interview that he endured his share of challenges after arriving in Seattle and was extremely aware of how American fans would perceive him. Although he said he didn’t aim to “play for Asians,” he knew his performance would be scrutinized if he didn’t keep his promises.

“As a Japanese player, as a guy who led the league in scoring all seven years and then became a starting position player, I knew I would be judged. And Japanese baseball will be judged by my performance.” , he said through a translator. “If I wasn’t able to produce, then they would judge Japanese baseball to be of a lower level. And so that pressure was there, and that’s what I had to endure.

At first, fans heckled him with jokes like “Go back to Japan,” Ichiro recalled, describing the interactions as “the norm” for him at the time. But he quickly eliminated those who sought to doubt or dismiss him, hitting a home run in his first road game. In 2019, he retired with the Mariners, playing his final game at the Tokyo Dome against the Oakland Athletics.

Ichiro was also elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame this month, receiving 323 of 349 votes in his first year of eligibility. In 2022, he was the first Asian player to be inducted into the Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame.