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There’s Always One. That was the case on Monday when Ichiro Suzuki was just one vote shy of becoming the second player to be unanimously elected into the Hall of Fame. Ichiro received 393 of the 394 votes cast by longtime baseball writers. Mariano Rivera remains the lone unanimous vote-getter, accomplishing the feat in 2019.
Ichiro, of course, undoubtedly belongs in Cooperstown with over 3,000 hits and 10 Gold Gloves in his prestigious career. It was always a guarantee he’d be in, but it was a matter of whether he’d get 100% of the vote.
When it was revealed that just one person did not vote for him, the celebration quickly turned into anger on social media. Five years ago, Derek Jeter also fell one vote short of unanimity. At the time, in typical Jeter fashion, he took the high road and said it was difficult to get everyone to agree on something. During his induction ceremony, he threw a shot at the lone voter who did not check his name on his ballot.
But with Ichiro’s snub, Jeter said the voters should be held accountable for their actions. “A lot of players have been unbelievable that are in the Hall of Fame and haven’t gotten 100% of the vote. I never expected it, and I would never sit here and say everyone should’ve voted for me or everyone should have voted for Ichiro,” Jeter said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital.
Ichiro joined the majors in 2001 as a highly touted Japanese prospect, hitting .353 during his nine seasons in his home country, where he won three MVPs and was a seven-time All-Star. He immediately lived up to the hype, winning the AL MVP and helping his team to a record 116 wins.
From 2001 to 2010, Ichiro was named an All-Star in each season while also winning a Gold Glove Award every year. In that span, he won three Silver Slugger Awards and two batting titles, with a .331 average and .806 OPS. He set the all-time single-season record with 262 hits and is the only player to register 10 straight 200-plus hit seasons. He also stole over 500 bases and is one of just seven players to record 3,000 hits and 500 stolen bases.
Ichiro spent the majority of his career with the Seattle Mariners, making stops with the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins. He and Jeter played together from 2012 to 2014.
