Ichiro Suzuki said he wants to meet with the one person who voted against his induction into the Hall of Fame after he fell one vote shy of being unanimous.

When Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese-born player to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, he became the 23rd player born outside the United States (including Puerto Rico, which, though it is a U.

The first time Ichiro Suzuki set foot into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. was nearly a quarter-century ago, back on Nov. 12, 2001.

For Ichiro Suzuki, whose baseball career defied convention and shattered records, his induction into the Hall of Fame has long felt less like a crowning achievement and more like an inevitable conclusion to one of the sport’s most remarkable journeys.

Former Seattle player Ichiro Suzuki acknowledges the crowd during a ceremony in which he was presented with the Mariners’ “Franchise Acheivement Award” before a 2019 game. Stephen Brashear/AP Share It wasn’t me.

The international significance of Ichiro Suzuki’s selection to the National Baseball Hall of Fame shouldn’t get overlooked or downplayed. It will be a benchmark moment in baseball history this summer when he becomes the first Japanese player enshrined in Cooperstown,