Ichiro Elected to Hall of Fame; 1 Vote Shy of Unanimous

Ichiro Suzuki is heading to Cooperstown a hair shy of a perfect score. 

The Japanese baseball legend fell a vote short of being the second unanimous selection to the Baseball Hall of Fame, the museum announced Tuesday, getting 393 out of 394 votes. He is joined by CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner, Dave Parker, and Dick Allen. Parker and Allen were selected through the Classic Baseball Era Committee and not by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Players need 75% of the BBWAA vote to gain induction into the Hall. The players will all be inducted during a ceremony in July. 

Mariano Rivera remains the lone player to receive 100% of the vote on his first ballot, when he was inducted in 2019. Suzuki joins Derek Jeter as the two players who fell a vote shy of unanimous selection. 

Ichiro, who was one of the few baseball players universally known just by his first name, was one of the game’s most consistent hitters, racking up 4,367 career hits between Nippon Professional Baseball (1992–2000) and Major League Baseball (2001–2019), the most all-time in the game’s top ranks. He spent the first eight seasons of his career playing in Japan before joining the Seattle Mariners for the 2001 season, where he was named Rookie of the Year and American League MVP in the same season. 

His impact is still being felt today as he paved the way for Japanese stars to follow him across the Pacific Ocean, including Hideki Matsui, Yu Darvish, and Shohei Ohtani, among others. 

He got into the Hall of Fame in his first year on the ballot along with pitcher CC Sabathia, who received 86.8% of the vote. Wagner (82.5%), who was on his 10th and final year on the ballot. Carlos Beltran finished with 277 votes for 70.3% of the vote, falling short of reaching the required 75% for induction.

Sabathia pitched 18 years in the majors for Cleveland, the Brewers, and the Yankees, where he was the team’s ace on the 2009 team that won the World Series. He was a six-time All-Star and went 251–161 for his career. 

Wagner pitched for 15 seasons, eight of which were with the Astros, and is one of only eight pitchers in the 400 saves club. He came five votes shy of induction a year ago and got over the hump in his final year of eligibility. 

Behind Beltran, Andruw Jones (66.2%) and longtime Phillies second baseman Chase Utley (39.8%) were the next highest-vote getters to fall short of induction. All three will be on the 2026 ballot. 

Next year’s ballot includes first-timers Cole Hamels, who is Utley’s former teammate, Ryan Braun, and Hunter Pence, among others. 

Players become eligible to appear on the Hall of Fame ballot five years after retiring and need to maintain 5% of the vote to continue to appear on future ballots for the full 10 years. Only eligible members of the BBWAA are able to vote for Hall of Famers, and only qualify by being active baseball writers for at least 10 years.