Ichiro Suzuki flirts with unanimity en route to Cooperstown

Ichiro Suzuki looks like a sure bet to be the first Japanese player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame
One week after the announcement of the voting results of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA), Ichiro Suzuki He is a sure bet to become the first Japanese player elected to the Cooperstown Hall of Fame, most likely with one of the highest approval rates of all time for the highest honor bestowed by the American professional baseball industry.
According to the revealed vote count conducted annually by the team led by Ryan Thibodeaux and which includes Adam Dore and Anthony Calamis, Suzuki had been marked on the 132 ballots that had been declared to the public so far.
In addition to Suzuki, starting pitcher CC Sabathia (91.7 percent), relief pitcher Billy Wagner (83.3 percent) and Puerto Rican outfielder Carlos Beltrán (78.0 percent).
Curacao outfielder Andruw Jones has 72.7 percent in his eighth and penultimate opportunity. Wagner is in his final year of eligibility. Sabathia is, like Suzuki, a debutant on the ballot, while Beltrán appears for the third time.
The official announcement of the 2025 results will be made on Tuesday, January 21 at 6:00 p.m. ET and candidates who are recorded on at least three-quarters of the ballots will be inducted at the ceremony on Sunday, July 27 in Cooperstown, next to Dave Parker and the deceased Dick Allenwho entered in December via the Classic Baseball Era Committee, which evaluated candidates whose main contribution to the game occurred before 1980.
Since the founding of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936 (although the first ceremony was delayed until 1939), the BBWAA has selected 139 of the 348 members and only one was marked on all available ballots. In 2019, the Panamanian reliever Mariano Riverathe all-time rescue leader, was elected unanimously by the 425 voters who participated in the process.
2019 was the last time the BBWAA elected four candidates to the pavilion. In addition to Rivera, the writers approved the Puerto Rican designated hitter Edgar Martinez and the American launchers Roy Halladay and Mike Mussina. The following year, Rivera’s teammate on the New York Yankees, the popular shortstop Derek Jeterreceived 396 of 397 available votes for 99.7 percent, surpassing the percentage obtained by the outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. in 2016, when it was approved by 437 of 440 voters, for 99.3 percent.
The launcher Greg Maddux He holds the record for votes received (555), but was left out of 16 ballots in 2014, for a percentage of 97.2, which is number 12 on the all-time list.
In general terms, journalists elected 60 players in their first year on the ballot and only 19 candidates surpassed the barrier of 95 percent support in the vote. The exclusive group includes Dominican third baseman Adrián Beltré, who received 95.06 percent (366 of 385 votes) last year.
With more than 30 percent of ballots revealed, everything indicates that Suzuki will not only enter Cooperstown in his first year of eligibility, but he will also do so with one of the highest approval rates in history. And it’s no wonder. “Ichiro” was a special player.
The great right fielder moved from Japanese baseball to the North American Major Leagues (MLB) in 2001, when he was already 27 years old and had won seven batting championships in nine years in the Pacific League, and that was no obstacle to achieving wonderful achievements. in the west.
Playing mostly with the Seattle Mariners, Suzuki hit .311 with 3,089 hits, 509 stolen bases and 1,420 runs scored in 19 years. In his first season he was Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player of the American League and in the first 10, each year he won the Gold Glove and was invited to the All-Star Game.
Suzuki holds the MLB records for hits by a rookie (242 in 2001) and hits in a season (262 in 2004) and the world record for hits (4,367), when his careers in the Major Leagues of Japan and the United States are combined. Joined.
HIGHEST COOPERSTOWN PERCENTAGES
Player Year Ballots Votes Pct.
Mariano Rivera 2019 425 425 100
Derek Jeter 2020 397 396 99.74
Ken Griffey Jr. 2016 440 437 99.32
Tom Seaver 1992 430 425 98.84
Nolan Ryan 1999 497 491 98.79
Cal Ripken Jr 2007 545 537 98.53
Ty Cobb 1936 226 222 98.23
George Brett 1999 497 488 98.19
Hank Aaron 1982 415 406 97.83
Tony Gwynn 2007 545 532 97.61
Randy Johnson 2015 549 534 97.27
Greg Maddux 2014 571 555 97.20
Chipper Jones 2018 422 410 97.16