Ichiro on pace to become second unanimous baseball…
Mariano Rivera could quickly have some company.
As of Monday, Ichiro Suzuki had obtained votes on all ballots made public by voting-tracker Ryan Thibodaux (@NotMrTibbs on Bluesky).
If that is still the case when the ultimate outcomes are launched by the Baseball Writers Association of America on Tuesday, Ichiro would be the first Japanese-born participant within the Hall of Fame and simply the second participant ever to be unanimously elected to Cooperstown.
Ichiro is set to be the primary Japanese-born participant within the Hall of Fame. AP
He would be a part of Rivera, who did it when he made the Hall of Fame in 2019 in his first 12 months on the poll. Rivera was named on all 425 ballots a 12 months earlier than Derek Jeter fell one vote short of 100%.
Ken Griffey Jr. has the third-highest proportion, at 99.3 p.c in 2016.
For Ichiro, it might be one other current honor, because the outfielder was additionally elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame final week in his first 12 months of eligibility for enshrinement there.
But he didn’t get there unanimously, as Ichiro was named on 92.6 p.c of the ballots, maybe as a result of he spent solely 9 seasons taking part in in Japan earlier than he made the transfer to MLB prior to the 2001 season.
In 19 MLB seasons, Ichiro completed with 3,089 hits. With the 1,278 he obtained whereas taking part in for Orix in Japan’s Pacific League, Ichiro’s 4,367 hits are probably the most in skilled baseball historical past.
And he’s one of simply seven gamers in MLB historical past with 3,000 hits and 500 stolen bases. The different six — Lou Brock, Ty Cobb, Eddie Collins, Rickey Henderson, Paul Molitor and Honus Wagner — are all in Cooperstown.
Mariano Rivera was the primary participant to be unanimously voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
Ichiro led the majors in hits seven occasions.
Of the first-timers on this 12 months’s poll, solely Ichiro and former Yankees teammate CC Sabathia are seemingly to get in.
Another ex-Ichiro teammate, right-hander Felix Hernandez, was at 26.1 p.c as of Monday afternoon and former Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia was at 15.4 p.c.
It takes 75 p.c of the vote to get in, and 5 p.c to keep on the poll.
Former Yankee catchers Russell Martin and Brian McCann, in addition to shortstop Troy Tulowitski, are all at risk of falling short.
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