Ichiro to Hall of Fame voter who didn't vote for him: Let's have a drink and chat

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — One vote. Just one vote separated Ichiro Suzuki from being a unanimous Hall of Famer. And Thursday, on the day he walked through the doors of the Baseball Hall of Fame for the first time as a Hall of Famer, Ichiro joined the ranks of many people around the globe in wondering why he didn’t get that one vote.

“I was able to receive many votes from the writers, and (I’m) grateful for them,” he said, via his translator, Allen Turner. “But there was one writer that I wasn’t able to get a vote from. I would like to invite him over to my house, and we’ll have a drink together and have a good chat.”

Ichiro Suzuki offers to have the only writer that did not vote him into the Baseball Hall of Fame over to his house to “have a drink together and have a good chat” 🤣 pic.twitter.com/FlMzAbEp4R

— SNY (@SNYtv) January 23, 2025

Of the 394 votes cast in the 2025 election by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, Suzuki’s name was checked on 393 of them. He joined his onetime Yankees teammate, Derek Jeter, as the only men in history to come within one vote of being the only position players to be elected to the Hall unanimously.

Although many voters have made their ballots public, the voter who left Ichiro off his ballot has not come forward to explain their reasoning. The same was true when Jeter missed by a vote in 2020.

They each collected 99.7 percent of the vote — the highest percentage ever by a hitter. That means legendary Yankees closer Mariano Rivera remains the only player at any position to be elected unanimously by the baseball writers. Rivera was named by all 425 voters in the 2019 election.

Nevertheless, Suzuki’s vote percentage is the highest ever by an outfielder, eclipsing Ken Griffey Jr.’s 99.3 percent in 2016, when he received votes from all but three writers.

Suzuki was one of three players elected to the Hall of Fame this year, alongside pitcher CC Sabathia and reliever Billy Wagner. Ichiro and Sabathia were elected in their first year on the ballot. Wagner was elected on his 10th and final try. They all visited and toured the Hall of Fame on Thursday for the first time since their election, and spoke at a press conference in the Hall.

The 3 newest Hall of Famers! pic.twitter.com/rEO4bnvEj0

— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) January 23, 2025

Ichiro’s unique story made him a prime candidate for unanimity. After winning seven batting titles in Japan, he came to the United States at age 27 and had a remarkable 3,089 hits over 19 seasons with the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees and Florida Marlins. If you include his time in Japan, his 4,367 hits would be the most in history by any player who played in the two biggest leagues in the world.

He will be inducted into the Hall in Cooperstown on July 27, along with Sabathia, Wagner and two great hitters of a previous generation, Dick Allen and Dave Parker, who were elected last month by the Classic Baseball Era Committee.