By Charles Hamaker

Seattle, WA – In nearly unanimous fashion, a player that many associate as synonymous with the Seattle Mariners franchise as so many in the fanbase grew up watching him and imitating his iconic pre-swing ritual has entered the National Baseball Hall of Fame as part of the 2025 class. Ichiro’s 19-year career in Major League Baseball was historic and iconic in so many ways, from his ability to rack up hits like no other while his defensive plays were such highlights that they earned comparisons to science-fiction movies. Suzuki’s performance once he hit the field, his respect for the game and its history, and his personality that delighted many is now eternally immortalized in Cooperstown as a player that’s tied with Derek Jeter for the second-highest voting percentage in history as New York Yankees reliever Mariano Rivera is the only player to ever be voted in unanimously. While it’s an absolute travesty that Suzuki doesn’t join Rivera in history as the only players to go in unanimously, having him earn the second-highest voting percentage and his accolades that got him to this point are proof enough that he is truly one of the greatest players to grace the diamond.

Now National Baseball Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki pictured during his induction into the Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame back on August 27th, 2022. (Photos by Liv Lyons for Circling Seattle Sports/Converge Media)

Missing unanimity by one vote

Chasing the accolade of becoming an unanimously voted player into the National Baseball Hall of Fame is a tough slope considering how fickle some of the writers have been in the past, with players who have deserved to get into the hall taking longer than they probably should to get in or other players missing the unanimous mark barely, including Ken Griffey Jr. who missed that mark by three votes. It’s incredibly frustrating to see Ichiro miss that mark by the singular vote considering his accomplishments on the field and how he impacts the story of the game of baseball, but also perhaps that unanimous term is somewhat overrated? You may ask why that may be, and it’s because the only player who has reached that mark is relief pitcher Mariano Rivera. While Rivera, nicknamed “Sandman,” is a certified great and deserves his spot in Cooperstown undoubtedly, he is not one of the 100 greatest players of all time and Ichiro was certainly more valuable to his teams during his prime whether that be as a position player or in the numbers, such as Suzuki having more career WAR (Wins above replacement) than Rivera. Ichiro was certainly worth more as a player considering how much he could impact a game at the plate, on the base paths, and with his glove in the outfield. That includes the fact that the league recognized as such with multiple other awards in addition to his 2001 MVP award as a rookie. It’s frustrating because a player that accomplished as much as Ichiro and that influenced the game as much should deserve the honor but not having it doesn’t take away from the greatness exemplified by his play, his integrity, and his personality. And Ichiro hit a walk off homer against Rivera anyway, so Suzuki is the winner in my book.

One of the greatest careers in baseball history

Simply put, Ichiro Suzuki put together one of the best resumes in all of baseball history, meaning the history of the sport and not just MLB. With his remarkable speed and unique hitting style, any time that Ichiro put the ball in play it was likely that he was going to reach base. His defense is legendary, and I’ll once again mention that it was so good that it earned a comparison to Star Wars from legendary play-by-play announcer Dave Niehaus. Exceptional at the plate and in the field, his dedication and respect for the sport and its history, plus the flair and personality that he showed even when he wasn’t playing all made Ichiro an icon to so many around the world. I personally remember imitating his pre-swing ritual of extending his part out with his right arm and tugging on his sleeve before getting into his batting stance. Playing 28 professional seasons (Nine in the Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball Organization’s Orix Blue Wave and 19 in Major League Baseball, including 14 seasons with the Mariners), Ichiro earned AL MVP (2001), AL Rookie of the year (2001), All-Star Game MVP (2007), ten Gold Glove awards, three Silver Slugger awards, and two batting championships amongst numerous other awards. Suzuki set the record for the most hits in a single season during the 2004 campaign with 262, became the 30th member of the 3,000-hit club, and finished his career with the most professional hits of any player in the history of the sport of baseball with 4,367. His greatness wasn’t limited to just NPB and MLB, as Suzuki was a leader for Team Japan as they won back-to-back World Baseball Classic titles in 2006 and 2009 where he was named to the All-Tournament team of the inaugural WBC in that 2006 year.

Fellow National Baseball Hall of Famers and Seattle Mariners Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez seen with Ichiro Suzuki during the latter’s induction into the Mariners Hall of Fame back on August 27th, 2022. (Photos by Liv Lyons for Circling Seattle Sports/Converge Media)

Mariners ties in Cooperstown

With his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame as part of the 2025 class, Ichiro Suzuki joins Ken Griffey Jr. (2016 inductee) and Edgar Martinez (2019 inductee) as the three players that primarily featured for the Seatle Mariners during their careers. Those two are the most notable to join the National Baseball Hall of Fame and have really been the other two most synonymous with the Mariners franchise, but there are eight Hall of Famers in total that are enshrined in Cooperstown that have some sort of tie to Seattle’s MLB organization. Not including Griffey Jr. and Martinez, the following names have ties to the Mariners: Adrian Beltre, Randy Johnson, Rickey Henderson, Goose Gossage, Dick Williams, and Gaylord Perry all spent some time with Seattle even if it came towards the end of their playing career. It’s nice to have that representation for the Mariners, a franchise that has had its own struggles throughout the course of their existence and they’ve certainly been well documented, but the real three major players to have put on the navy blue are those initial three that were mentioned at the beginning of this section.

What’s next?

For Ichiro Suzuki, he and the rest of the 2025 National Baseball Hall of Fame class (Including CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner, Dave Parker, and Dick Allen) will be inducted on Sunday, July 27th at the Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. Suzuki will more than likely draw quite a large crowd to the induction ceremony considering how he endeared fans of baseball, whether it was during his time in the Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball Organization or Major League Baseball, and surely outside of that ceremony he will remain where you can normally find him during the season: at T-Mobile Park pregame working out as if he was still playing the game that he dominated during his career.

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Check out our previous Seattle Mariners articles here.

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