Ichiro Suzuki falls short of unanimous Hall of Fame status, sparking outrage on social media: "Moronic"

The election of Ichiro Suzuki to the Baseball Hall of Fame was almost certain on Tuesday night, with the only uncertainty being whether it would be a unanimous decision.

Despite receiving 99.7% of the vote from 394 baseball writers, he fell short by just one vote.

In 2020, Derek Jeter was one vote away from receiving unanimous selection.

In 2019, Mariano Rivera became the first player in MLB history to receive 100% of the vote in an unanimous election.

The voting has always been suspect, but the reactions were not pleasant.

Jon Heyman, a New York Post writer and Hall of Fame voter, wrote on X: "Please step forward, you numbskull."

Added The Athletic writer Chris Kirschner, "So moronic."

San Francisco Chronicle writer Susan Slusser called the near miss "upsetting."

In 2016, Ken Griffey Jr. of the Seattle Mariners fell three votes short of being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Ichiro will be enshrined in Cooperstown this summer, becoming the first Japanese-born player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Ichiro, a highly touted Japanese prospect, joined the majors in 2001 and hit .353 during his nine seasons in his home country, where he won three MVPs and was a seven-time All-Star. At age 28, he joined the Mariners and immediately lived up to the hype, winning the AL MVP and helping that year’s Mariners team to a record 116 wins.

From 2001 to 2010, Ichiro was named an All-Star in each season and won a Gold Glove Award every year. During this time, he won three Silver Slugger Awards and two batting titles, while maintaining a .331 average and .806 OPS. In 2004, he set the all-time single-season record with 262 hits, and he is the only player in MLB history to have 10 straight 200-plus hit seasons. Ichiro also stole over 500 bases and is one of only seven players to record 3,000 hits and 500 stolen bases.

Ichiro's career average never dipped below .300 after just his 11th MLB game, and he retired with a .311 average, 3,089 hits, and a 60.0 WAR. In the live ball era, he is one of only 21 players with at least 10 seasons of hitting .300 (among qualified hitters) and the only one to do it 10 straight years. Ichiro spent most of his career with the Mariners, but also made stops with the Yankees and Marlins.

This year's class includes pitchers CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner, along with Ichiro.

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