Ichiro Suzuki adds humorous touches to Hall of Fame induction ceremonies
Mixing sneaky humor with heartfelt messages, the first Japanese-born player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame stole the show Sunday in Cooperstown.
Morning showers and gloomy skies delayed the ceremonies by an hour, but the moisture gave way to bright skies and warm temperatures. The sun seemed its brightest during Suzuki's acceptance speech.
The outfielder was joined by pitcher CC Sabathia, also elected in his first year of eligibility, and closer Billy Wagner, who made it in his final try on the writers' ballot. Suzuki fell one vote shy of being a unanimous selection and he took a jab at the unidentified sports writer who didn't vote for him.
'Three thousand hits or 262 hits in one season are two achievements recognized by the writers. Well, all but one,' Suzuki said to roaring laughter.
'By the way, the offer for the writer to have dinner at my home has now expired,' he added, with emphasis on 'expired' for good measure.
A pair of Era Committee selections rounded out the Class of 2025: Dave Parker, who earned the nickname Cobra during 20 big league seasons, and slugger Dick Allen. Parker died June 28, just a month before he was to be inducted.
An estimated 30,000 fans crowded onto the field adjacent to the Clark Sports Center, sun umbrellas and Japanese flags sprinkled around. Suzuki's No. 51 was seemingly everywhere as fans, thousands of them Seattle Mariners boosters who made the trek from the Pacific Northwest, chanted 'Ichiro' several times throughout the day. A sign that read 'Thank You Ichiro! Forever a Legend' in English and Japanese summed up the admiration for Suzuki on his special day.
With 52 returning Hall of Famers on hand, Suzuki paid homage to his new baseball home in Cooperstown and his adoring fans by delivering his 18-minute speech in English. His humor, a surprise to many, delighted the crowd.
He threw shade at the Miami Marlins, the last stop of his professional career.
'Honestly, when you guys offered me a contract in 2015, I had never heard of your team,' Suzuki joked.
He kidded that he showed up at spring training every year with his arm 'already in shape' just to hear Mariners broadcaster Rick Rizzs scream, '`Holy smokes! Another laser-beam throw from Ichiro!''
He even took a moment for some tongue-in-cheek modesty.
'People often measure me by my records. Three thousand hits. Ten Gold Gloves. Ten seasons of 200 hits.
'Not bad, huh?' Suzuki said to more laughs.
He thanked his late agent Tony Anastasio for 'getting me to America and for teaching me to love wine.'
But he also took time to get to the root of what made him extraordinary.
'Baseball is much more than just hitting, throwing and running. Baseball taught me to make valued decisions about what is important. It helped shape my view of life and the world. … The older I got, I realized the only way I could get to play the game I loved to the age of 45 at the highest level was to dedicate myself to it completely,' he said. 'When fans use their precious time to see you play, you have a responsibility to perform for them whether you are winning by 10 or losing by 10.
'Baseball taught me what it means to be a professional and I believe that is the main reason I am here today. I could not have achieved the numbers without paying attention to the small details every single day consistently for all 19 seasons.'
Now he's reached the pinnacle, overcoming doubters, one of whom said to him: '`Don't embarrass the nation.'' He's made his homeland proud.
'Going into America's Baseball Hall of Fame was never my goal. I didn't even know there was one. I visited Cooperstown for the first time in 2001, but being here today sure feels like a fantastic dream.'
Sabathia thanked 'the great players sitting behind me, even Ichiro who stole my Rookie of the Year award (in 2001).' He paid homage to Parker and spoke about Black culture in today's game.
'It's an extra honor to be a part of Dave's Hall of Fame class. He was a father figure for a generation of Black stars. In the '80s and early '90s when I first started watching baseball and Dave Parker was crushing homers, the number of Black players in the major leagues was at its highest, about 18%. Me and my friends played the game because we saw those guys on TV and there was always somebody who looked like me in a baseball uniform.
'Baseball has always been a great game for Black athletes, but baseball culture has not always been great to Black people. I hope we're starting to turn that around. I don't want to be the final member of the Black aces, a Black pitcher to win 20 games. And I don't want to be the final Black pitcher giving a Hall of Fame speech.'
Wagner urged young players to treat obstacles not as 'roadblocks, but steppingstones."
'I wasn't the biggest player. I wasn't supposed to be here. There were only seven full-time relievers in the Hall of Fame. Now, there are eight because I refused to give up or give in," he said.
Suzuki received 393 of 394 votes (99.7%) from the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Sabathia was picked on 342 ballots (86.8%) and Wagner on 325 (82.5%), which was 29 votes more than the 296 needed for the required 75%.
After arriving in the majors in 2001, Suzuki joined Fred Lynn (1975) as the only players to win Rookie of the Year and 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 RBIs and 509 stolen bases with Seattle, the New York Yankees and Miami.
He is perhaps the best contact hitter ever, with 1,278 hits in Nippon Professional Baseball and 3,089 in MLB, including a season-record 262 in 2004. His combined total of 4,367 exceeds Pete Rose's major league record of 4,256.
Sabathia, second to Suzuki in 2001 AL Rookie of the Year voting, was a six-time All-Star who won the 2007 AL Cy Young Award and a World Series title in 2009. He went 251-161 with a 3.74 ERA and 3,093 strikeouts, third among left-handers behind Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton, during 19 seasons with Cleveland, Milwaukee and the New York Yankees.
A seven-time All-Star, Wagner was 47-40 with a 2.31 ERA and 422 saves for Houston, Philadelphia, the New York Mets, Boston and Atlanta.
Tom Hamilton and Tom Boswell were also honored during Hall of Fame weekend. Hamilton has been the primary radio broadcaster for the Cleveland Guardians franchise for 35 seasons and received the Ford C. Frick Award. Boswell, a retired sports columnist who spent his entire career with The Washington Post, was honored with the BBWAA Career Excellence Award.
___
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
29 minutes ago
- The Independent
Tale of 3 A's cities: Oakland left behind, Sacramento a temporary stop, Las Vegas awaits
Those chants of 'sell the team' that rang from every corner of the Coliseum during the Athletics' final seasons in Oakland are noticeably less obvious these days as the club plays the first of three scheduled years at a Triple-A ballpark in California's capital region. Not that all the negative feelings have been cast aside. There is still plenty of ill will toward the team that moved some 90 miles north. During a recent Braves-A's series, two supporters showed up in 'Forever Oakland' T-shirts, while another fan from Fresno arrived at Sutter Health Park wearing a 'Rooted in Oakland" shirt. It's a drastically different scene from the A's old Oakland home. Fans staged 'reverse boycott' protests where they packed the Coliseum, brought homemade signs begging the team to stay and loudly called for owner John Fisher to 'SELL!' In Sacramento, there's a pervading sense the A's are a rental, not a long-term investment. As soon as 2028, they plan to move into a what has been valued as a $1.75 billion ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip. Construction began last month. While many A's fans moved on and want nothing to do with the team, some still drive long distances to games in Sacramento and try to make the best of the situation — a big league team in a small-time stadium. 'It's a big difference walking (through the ballpark) in about five minutes instead of walking the Coliseum in like 20, 30 minutes,' said Francisco Almazan from Modesto. It's not a wholly comfortable setup for players and coaches. The A's built a two-story clubhouse beyond left field that on the top floor includes a lounge, kitchen and offices for manager Mark Kotsay and his coaches. The players' lockers are on the first level. 'Everybody is trying to make the best of it," outfielder Lawrence Butler said. "I'm just thankful for them trying to make it up to big-league standard.' Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred acknowledged while speaking at the All-Star Game that playing in a 10,000-seat ballpark isn't perfect. He said the circumstances would be different if the A's moved directly into a 33,000-capacity facility like the one underway in Las Vegas. Union chief Tony Clark was less diplomatic, insisting players prefer to work in an actual big league ballpark. 'There's still a little bit of hope that something may come to fruition before 2028 and what's being described as the time where the new ballpark will be in place,' Clark said. "But we'll have to see.' A's players know the situation: The plan is to play in America's party capital less than three years from now, but that seemingly far-off timeline doesn't consume their day-to-day baseball lives. 'I think this group is focused on what they need to be focused on,' Kotsay said. 'They come to prepare every day. You walk through our locker room, there's a consistent routine and consistent work ethic that goes on prior to them playing the game.' Still, as much as they try to stay in the moment, the A's are very much tied to their past, present and future with three far different cities. Oakland is embracing the B's, and the Coliseum has a new tenant Some baseball fans in the A's old market have shifted their interest to the Oakland Ballers. The 'B's' have been a huge hit at intimate Raimondi Park — capacity around 4,000 — complete with mascot Scrappy the Rally Possum and nostalgic nods to Oakland at every turn. The B's have provided a big lift for a city that watched the NBA's Golden State Warriors move to San Francisco in 2019 and the NFL's Raiders leave for Las Vegas the next year. Last month, the Ballers unveiled a mural honoring late Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, who died in December at age 65. The Oakland Roots soccer team now plays its home games at the Coliseum, where cricket has also become a popular choice given the dual-sport facility's size. Some longtime employees now work Roots games but many moved on or retired, unwilling to make the trek to Sacramento — though most weren't invited. Las Vegas prepares to welcome an MLB franchise A formal groundbreaking on the new ballpark occurred June 23, with Fisher, Manfred and Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo among those speaking at the festivities. There is a tight window for the venue to be ready by opening day in 2028. The A's hope to complete the project in 2027. They launched a construction cam so fans can track the progress, and without a doubt, the team will be under a microscope trying to meet its ambitious deadline. Then the question becomes: Will Las Vegas embrace the A's? Las Vegas' strong support for its first major professional team, the NHL's Golden Knights, helped pave the way for what has become an explosion of sports in a city once shunned because of legalized sports betting. The Raiders draw large crowds, but many game days feel like neutral sites with opposing fans showing up by the thousands. The Aces became the first WNBA team to sell out an entire season — and did so twice. Longtime A's radio play-by-play man Ken Korach has a unique perspective on it. In his 30th season calling A's games, Korach moved to the Henderson, Nevada, suburb in 1992 and has stayed put. He figured MLB might explore the market, either through relocation or expansion. 'There are a lot of conflicting emotions there," Korach said. "I've always felt the Bay Area is a two-team market, and I've always felt that Vegas could support a major-league team.' Rookie infielder Max Muncy, too, can already weigh in on the A's current home and their future one. He has played 81 games in Las Vegas over the past two seasons, but began this season in Sacramento and returned to the big club before going on the 10-day injured list Tuesday after taking a pitch to his right hand. 'I had a great time in Las Vegas,' Muncy said. 'Those fans are great. The atmosphere is great. It's a great city. I enjoyed living there. I think it's going to be a special place to play, as it is here. I really enjoyed my time there, and I think a lot of guys that played there will say the same thing.' Being on the Strip would allow the A's to attract tourists given the ballpark is walking distance for many visitors. That could be especially important for non-marquee, weeknight matchups in contrast to in-demand weekend series against big-market teams like the Yankees or Dodgers. The club has begun trying to establish a foothold in the community. The A's said they have contributed $1.5 million since 2023, including more than $400,000 this year, to nonprofits and other similar organizations that include every youth baseball and softball team. They have been involved in more than 30 events this year from youth sports to festivals to public watch parties with more planned through the end of 2025. Sacramento is trying to enjoy the A's while they're still around Robert Greenberg, an A's fan who lives in Fresno, isn't sure he will keep rooting for the green and gold if and when they move for good even if it's an easier drive to Sacramento than to Oakland. He believes Fisher cut payroll and undermined the team to suppress attendance and facilitate its move. 'I guess he got what he wanted,' Greenberg said. Ayad Bunni of San Mateo said he was a fan before hosting the 'Locked on A's' podcast. He considered not following the A's and understands why many others no longer cheer them on, but said he didn't fault the club for taking these steps. 'As an A's fan and being from here, would I love for them to be in Oakland?" he said. "Absolutely, 100%." The A's average 9,782 fans, and they and Tampa Bay — also playing in a Triple-A ballpark this season after Tropicana Field was damaged by a hurricane — are the only teams were fewer than 10,000 per game. The Athletics averaged 11,386 fans last season in the Coliseum, lowest in MLB. Meanwhile, the players play on, and whether the process turns out to be one big sinking ship remains to be seen. It also could become a move that puts the organization on the trajectory to future success in the box office and on the field. But the here and now gives the A's plenty to think about, and All-Star designated hitter Brent Rooker acknowledged he and his teammates have faced adversity most other clubs haven't encountered. 'Every challenge you face in this game or outside this game is going to mold you and build you into the person you're going to ultimately become," Rooker said. 'So anything you can use to your advantage, whether it's adversity, a challenge, a success, a failure, all those things can be made into positives.' ___
Reuters
30 minutes ago
- Reuters
Japan's Suzuki paved way for generation of players
July 28 (Reuters) - Ichiro Suzuki, a remarkable hitter with dazzling speed and arm strength, not only broke stereotypes during a career played across two continents but also blazed a trail for a generation of Japanese-born players in Major League Baseball. Suzuki, who proved his abilities despite starting his MLB journey at a relatively advanced age, became the first Japanese-born player inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame during a ceremony in Cooperstown, New York, on Sunday. Arriving from the Orix BlueWave of the Pacific League in Nippon Professional Baseball as a 27-year-old major league rookie with the Seattle Mariners, Ichiro wasted no time showing that his talent and determination translated on MLB diamonds. The slender Ichiro, with an unorthodox high leg kick to time his swing in the batter's box, turned routine ground balls into short infield singles with his speed down the line and made baserunners cautious with his strong arm in right field. Suzuki announced himself with an electric 2001 season in which he hit .350 to win the batting title with a rookie record 242 hits while swiping a league-leading 56 bases in sweeping Rookie of the Year and American League MVP honors. The batting title/stolen base double had last been achieved in 1949 by fabled trailblazer Jackie Robinson, the man who broke the color barrier as MLB's first African American player. Suzuki, who had won seven batting titles in a row and three straight Pacific League MVP awards in Japan, was just getting warmed up in the majors and quickly became a household name in Seattle. Following a strict daily practice routine and stretching regimen, Suzuki was a model of high level consistency during a 19-year MLB career that also included stops with the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins. He went on to post a record 10 consecutive seasons of at least 200 hits, reaching his zenith in 2004 when he stroked 262 hits to break an 84-year-old major league record set by George Sisler as he claimed another batting title with a .372 average. By the time he retired, Suzuki was a 10-times MLB All-Star who held the record for the most hits by a professional baseball player, including his time in Japan, with 4,367. Including his 1,278 hits for Orix in Japan, the claim has been made that with his major league hits total, Ichiro has surpassed the late Pete Rose, who is MLB's career hits leader with 4,256. "He's a guy who comes around once in a lifetime," Hall of Famer Derek Jeter, who was a teammate of Suzuki's when the Japanese outfielder played with the Yankees from 2012 to 2014, once said. "No one's ever seen anybody like him. And to be quite honest, we probably won't see anybody like him again." Suzuki, who during his career smashed the perception that only Japanese pitchers were good enough to excel in MLB, not only inspired a generation of players but also prompted clubs to more aggressively scout and sign hitters from Japan. His rise to stardom while playing in MLB opened the door for fellow Japanese hitters like Hideki Matsuyama while current Los Angeles Dodgers two-way standout Shohei Ohtani has also referenced him as an inspiration. "Growing up, Ichiro was for me the way that I think some kids, some people, look at me today," Ohtani told GQ magazine in 2023. "Like I'm a different species. Larger than life. He was a superstar in Japan. He had this charisma about him."
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Dwight Muhammad Qawi dead at 72: Boxing legend who fought George Foreman and Evander Holyfield - and served time in prison
Former two-weight boxing world champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi has died at the age of 72. The Camden Buzzsaw held titles at both light heavyweight and cruiserweight and won 41 of his 53 professional fights between 1978 and 1998. More to follow
