Ichiro hilariously needles lone writer who left him off Hall of Fame ballot
The long-time Seattle Mariner didn't hold back during his Hall of Fame acceptance speech on Sunday, calling out the lone Baseball Writers' Association voter who failed to include him on his or her ballot, despite his historic career achievements.
'Three‑thousand hits or 262 hits in one season are achievements recognized by the writers. Well, all but one of you. And by the way, the offer for that writer to have dinner at my home has now expired,' Ichiro said to a roaring Cooperstown crowd.
Ichiro Suzuki speaks during the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Clark Sports Center on July 27, 2025 in Cooperstown, New York.
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Ichiro headlined the 2025 class, sharing the Cooperstown stage with CC Sabathia and elite reliever Billy Wagner, while legendary players Dick Allen and Dave Parker were inducted posthumously.
Ichiro was selected on his first ballot with a sweeping 99.7 percent of the vote share, collecting 393 of 394 votes.
The achievement also makes Ichiro the first Asian-born Hall of Fame inductee.
Over 19 MLB seasons, Ichiro racked up 3,089 major league hits with a career batting average of a blistering .311, as well as 509 stolen bases, 10 Gold Gloves, three Silver Slugger awards, and two batting titles.
Ichiro's single-season record of 262 hits in 2004 still stands to this day.
Inductees, from left, Billy Wagner, Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, Willa Allen, representing her late husband late Dick Allen and David Parker II, representing his late father Dave Parker pose for a photograph after the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Clark Sports Center on July 27, 2025 in Cooperstown, New York.
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Ichiro's 242 hits as a rookie in 2001 are also 10th all-time and second after 1930 — that season he won both MVP and Rookie of the Year in the American League.
He also reached 10 consecutive All-Star games to begin his career, an MLB record.
As of Ichiro's speech, the writer who left him off the ballot, keeping him from becoming the second unanimous first ballot Hall of Famer, has remained anonymous.
Mariano Rivera received a perfect 425 of 425 votes for his initial Hall of Fame bid in 2019.
Ichiro's 99.7 percent ties Derek Jeter for second place.
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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 winner, 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. 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