It will not be long before an Asian player becomes a member of the Major League Hall of Fame (HOF).
Suzuki Ichiro has finally been named a HOF candidate in his first year of eligibility. BBWAA started voting for HOF in 2025 as of Wednesday (Korea time).
The new candidates this time include Ichiro, CC Sabicia, Dustin Pedroia, Felix Hernandez, Carlos Gonzalez, Curtis Granderson, Adam Jones, Ian Kinsler, Russell Martin, Brian McCann, Hanley Ramirez, Fernando Rodney, Troy Tulowitzki and Ben Zobrist.
Among them, Ichiro and Sabathia are certain to enter. This is because the achievements made are so clear and meaningful. Only attention is focused on whether Ichiro will enter Cooperstown with the approval of all the BBWAA voting groups.
Mariano Rivera is the only player who has received 100% of the vote in all HOF votes. In 2019, his first year of eligibility, he received a “yes vote” from all 425 BBWAA voting groups. A native of Panama, Rivera has played for 19 years with only one Yankees team, making a career-high 652 saves, ranking first in the category.
Derrick Jeter, the Yankees’ captain, was also expected to run for the next year and have a unanimous donor for the second consecutive year, but only one out of 397 people did not choose him. Jeter later said, “I don’t care who didn’t vote for me. What’s annoying is that I have to answer that question constantly. But I don’t think I should answer that question.” He said, “It’s not appropriate to express your opinion on the reporter, so please don’t ask me why or how you feel.”
Ken Griffey Jr., who hit 630 home runs in total, was also shunned by three of the 440 voting members with 99.3 percent of the vote. His innocence of 13 All-Star selections, 10 consecutive Gold Gloves, 7 Silver Sluggers, 1 MVP, and 630 home runs by enduring the era of steroids in a clean and natural way did not lead to unanimous decision.
It is true that it is almost impossible to receive unanimous opinions even if you look at the top 10 in the history of vote, including Tom Seaver (98.8%), Nolan Ryan (98.8%), Carl Ripken Jr (98.5%), Ty Cobb (98.2%), George Brett (98.2%), Hank Aaron (97.8%), and Tony Gwynn (97.6%).
Of course, Ichiro is a different case. He gained a reputation as a “hit machine” in Japan, crossed the Pacific Ocean, defying everyone’s expectations, and conquered the field. Ichiro’s most important achievement is that he put the MLB slogan of “globalization of baseball” into practice for the broadest and longest period of time.
At a baseball stadium, Ichiro boasted the best offense and defense skills of his time. Since his debut with the Seattle Mariners in 2001, he had 3,089 hits, 509 steals, 1420 runs, and an OPS of 0.757 for 19 seasons until he retired from Seattle in 2019. He has the most hits and highest batting average from Asia.
From 2001 to 2010, he built an unprecedented golden tower of .300, 200 hits, Gold Glove, and All-Star selection for 10 consecutive years, and became the AL Rookie of the Year and 토토사이트 MVP at the same time in his debut season. He is said to be the most perfect contact heater, leadoff, and right fielder in history. He did not make controversial remarks both inside and outside the stadium, and even after taking off his uniform, he showed his presence in the baseball community by traveling between the U.S. and Japan.
Of course, no one doubts Ichiro’s entry into the HOF, but like Jeter, voting is another situation. There may be many reporters with different ideas and opinions among the 400 or so voting groups.
Albert Pujols walks around the bases cheering after hitting a career-high 700 home runs in the fourth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sept. 24, 2022 (Korea time). AP Yonhap News
There is a saying that a unanimous HOF member is decided by heaven. If Ichiro fails, it should be considered impossible for the recently retired Buster Posey, Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander, Clayton Kershaw, and Max Scherzer, as well as Mike Trout, Aaron Judge, and Mookie Betts, who are in their prime or are almost past.
“The fact that Ichiro is from the Japanese league may be the only unfortunate reason why someone doesn’t choose him. However, Ichiro has proven his cultural influence in the U.S. as well as how a Japanese beast succeeds in the U.S.,” MLB.com said in a unanimous vote, adding, “There is no basis for logically refuting that he should be included in all voting papers distributed this year.”
He also mentioned Pujols, Cabrera, Verlander, Kershaw, Scherzer, Trout, and Betts as candidates who could be inducted into the HOF unanimously. Shohei Ohtani was not mentioned because he had less than 10 years of major league experience, but this does not mean that he is not a unanimous candidate. One of the eligibility criteria for HOF induction is 10 years of experience.
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