As soon as Japanese baseball legend Ichiro Suzuki (51) ran for the Hall of Fame in 2025, the possibility of 100% unanimous entry was raised.
The official Major League website MLB.com introduced 28 candidates for 2025, including Ichiro, on the 19th (Korea Standard Time), saying, “Can Ichiro enter the Major League Hall of Fame unanimously?”
Among them, Ichiro, who first ran in 2025, was mentioned as a unanimous candidate, with only one Mariano Rivera in 2019 in the history of the Major League Hall of Fame.
First of all, he is certain to enter the Hall of Fame. Ichiro entered the Major League with the Seattle Mariners in 2001 at the late age of 27. He had both Rookie and MVP since his debut year. In 2004, he recorded 262 hits, setting a new record for the most hits in a single season. He was also awarded the title twice as batting champion (2001 and 2004) and three times as silver sluggers (2001, 2007 and 2009). He was also legendary in defense all time, winning the Gold Glove Award for the 10th consecutive year from 2001 to 2010.
He transferred to the New York Yankees through a trade in 2012. After playing for the Miami Marlins, he returned to the Seattle Mariners in 2018. He officially retired after playing the opening two games of Japan in 2019. His career performance in the Major League recorded 2,653 games of batting average of 0.311 (3,089 hits in 9,934 times at bat), 117 homers, 780 RBIs, 1420 runs and 509 steals, and his on-base percentage of 0.355 (on-base plus slugging percentage) of 0.402 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) of 0.757.
“Even though he started his baseball career in the U.S. at the age of 27, Ichiro is considered one of the top 100 players in the history of Major League Baseball, ranking 24th with the most hits, 48th with on-base percentage, 35th with stolen bases, and 90th with the score,” MLB.com said. “He won 10 Gold Gloves in the outfield.”
His total number of hits has exceeded 4,000 including his Japanese baseball days. Ichiro, who started his professional career with the Orix Blue Wave (currently the Orix Buffaloes) in 1992, was a five-tool player with a slugging percentage of 0.522 and 118 home runs in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He had 1,278 hits over the past nine years in the Japanese league, making him the world’s best hit king with 4,367 hits in both the U.S. and Japan.
It was an icon of an era that brought enthusiasm of Japanese players to the Major League beyond mere records. Since Ichiro’s success, numerous Japanese players have rushed to the big leagues, culminating in the recent emergence of Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
MLB.com strongly argued, “Statistics do not include Ichiro’s enormous cultural influence. He proved how the Japanese beast can succeed on American soil. Although there will be pros and cons about whether Ichiro’s achievements during his time as an NPB should be included in the reasons for voting, there will be no logical argument against Ichiro being included on all Hall of Fame ballots this year.”
Besides Ichiro, 13 more players are set to join the Major League Hall of Fame in 토토사이트 2025. They include Ichiro CC, Sabathia (44), who recorded 250 wins and 3,000 strikeouts with only 15 players in the Major League, Dustin Pedroia, who led the Boston Red Sox to two-time World Series championships, and Felix Hernandez, a legendary player from Seattle. Carlos Gonzalez, Curtis Granderson, Adam Jones, Ian Kinsler, Russell Martin, Brian McCann, Henry Ramirez, Fernando Rodney, Troy Tulowitzki, and Ben Zobrist have qualified for the first time.
There are also 14 candidates to re-challenge the Hall of Fame. They are Andrew Jones, Carlos Beltran, Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, Chase Utley, Oma Bizkel, Bobby Abreu, Jimmy Rollins, Andy Petit, Mark Burley, Francisco Rodriguez, Tori Hunter, David Wright and Billy Wagner.
MLB.com is paying attention to whether Wagner, who is taking the 10th attempt, will join the team. Wagner is a legendary left-hander with an ERA of 2.31 in 903 innings in 422 games, and if he joins the team, he will become the ninth bullpen pitcher. MLB.com said, “Wagner is the most likely player to join the Hall of Fame. He garnered 73.8 percent of the votes last year (75 percent in terms of success).