Ichiro Suzuki, the outstanding contact hitter who amassed a wealth of records and honors during his 19 years in the major leagues, primarily with the Seattle Mariners, was elected as baseball’s first Asian player to the Hall of Fame on Tuesday.
Ichiro is a member of the class of 2025 that is traveling to Cooperstown, New York, along with bullpen pitcher Billy Wagner and starting pitcher CC Sabathia.
Ichiro became the first Japanese position player to play in Major League Baseball when he made his debut with the Mariners in 2001. He was named the American League’s MVP and Rookie of the Year that season.
In addition to being a ten-time All-Star, he won three Silver Slugger awards for his outstanding offensive skills and ten Gold Gloves for his outstanding defense. Ichiro was recognized for being a great leadoff hitter (his lifetime batting average was.311) and a strong right fielder who could scale the outfield wall to steal a home run despite only being 5′ 9″.
After playing in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league for nine years, Ichiro amassed 3,089 hits in Major League Baseball. He had the most hits of any player in baseball history throughout his professional career, totaling 4,367 hits from both levels.
In a 2022 interview with NBC News, Ichiro said he faced his fair share of difficulties after moving to Seattle and was quite conscious of how American fans would judge him. He claimed he had no intention of performing for Asians, but he was aware that if he failed, his performance would be closely watched.
I knew I would be scrutinized since I was a Japanese player who had dominated the league in hitting for seven years before moving over to play first position. Ichiro, speaking through a translator, added that Japan baseball would be evaluated based on my performance. They would consider Japanese baseball to be at a lower level if I couldn’t produce. I had to bear the pressure because it was present.
Ichiro remembered that early on, people would taunt him with insults such, “Go back to Japan.” He described those exchanges as commonplace for him at the time. He blasted a home run in his first road game, though, and swiftly chipped away at those who tried to cast doubt on or ignore him. He played his final game against the Oakland Athletics at the Tokyo Dome in 2019 before retiring with the Mariners.
In addition, Ichiro received 323 out of 349 votes in his first year of eligibility and was elected into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame this month. He was inducted into the Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame in 2022, making him the first Asian player to do so.