When Ichiro retired, his data felt “small” in comparison with the emotional moments

For Ichiro Suzuki, it is not concerning the data, or the achievements, he says.

It isn’t that the Seattle Mariners nice does not have them — in truth, there have been many in his star-studded profession: Rookie of the Yr, Most Priceless Participant, ten-time All-Star, proprietor of the single-season hits file, one in every of only some dozen MLB gamers to log 3,000 or extra hits.

However requested what from his profession stands out, the ever-thoughtful Suzuki has lengthy stated it’s the emotional moments that may keep on with him essentially the most.

Moments like opening day in Seattle in 2018, when followers stood to cheer for his return residence to the workforce the place his exceptional Main League profession started. And like his ultimate recreation in an MLB uniform, on the Tokyo Dome in Japan, the place a standing ovation lasted for minutes as he walked off the sector for the final time, and followers lingered for hours to specific their gratitude.

“When I look at [my records] now, they don’t feel that important,” Suzuki stated after the Tokyo Dome recreation. “After experiencing that moment today, everything else seems so small.”

Seattle Mariners Ichiro Suzuki runs to first base in a recreation in opposition to the Oakland Athletics throughout their baseball recreation on the Main League Baseball Japan Opening Collection in Tokyo, on March 20, 2019.

Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP through Getty Pictures

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Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP through Getty Pictures

Now, Suzuki is headed to the Baseball Corridor of Fame in Cooperstown, a variety so apparent that solely one of practically 400 voters declined to incorporate him on their poll. And at a time when Japanese gamers have develop into extra outstanding than ever within the U.S., Suzuki would be the first Japanese-born participant to seem within the Corridor of Fame.

“In 2001, there was probably not one person on Earth who thought this day would come,” he stated at an emotional press convention in Seattle on Tuesday. “Being able to reach this day is a feeling I can’t express in words.”

His profession disproved doubts about Japanese gamers

When Suzuki arrived within the U.S. in 2001, he had been a star in Japan for years already. He debuted in 1992 with the Orix BlueWave, a workforce based mostly in Kobe, and shortly it turned clear he was a powerhouse.

His rise to stardom got here at a time when the nationwide temper in Japan was at a low. The bubble financial system of the Eighties had burst, and in 1995, an earthquake struck close to Kobe and killed hundreds.

Individuals wanted one thing to really feel hopeful about, stated Kiyoteru Tsutsui, a sociology professor at Stanford who follows Japanese baseball.

Then, quickly after the earthquake, the younger star led Kobe’s workforce to a Pacific League pennant and a Japan Collection title. “It’s like Hollywood movie stuff,” Tsutsui stated. “Everybody in Japan knew him, and he was the superstar in Japan’s baseball.”

That have modified the way in which Suzuki considered his position as a baseball participant locally, he stated Tuesday. “At first, there were some who said, ‘This is not the time for baseball.’ We felt that too,” he stated. “But we realized that, as professional baseball players, you can make things happen that ordinary people can’t.”

However his soar to the Main Leagues wasn’t seen as a positive factor. On the time, only some Japanese gamers had come to the U.S., they usually had all been pitchers who did not must area or bat on daily basis.

Suzuki, against this, was an outfielder. He must play on daily basis, and his small body — a slender 5’10” — only added to the doubts.

“There have been a number of criticisms and questions surrounding him, whether or not he is too small, or he does not have the stamina to resist the trials of a significant league schedule 162 video games,” Tsutsui said. “Some consultants predicted that he would fail.”

Suzuki knew his performance would be used to judge other Japanese players in the future. “I bear in mind taking part in with that strain on my shoulders,” he said Tuesday.

Now, Japanese players are more prominent than ever in the MLB. The Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher-slugger Shohei Ohtani is baseball’s biggest star.

A virtually unanimous choice

Just one participant had ever been chosen to the Corridor of Fame by a unanimous vote: Mariano Rivera, the dominating Yankees nearer who helped New York win 5 World Collection from the mid-90s by means of the 2000s.

Suzuki was thought to have an opportunity to be the second unanimous choose. However he fell one vote shy: He was named on 393 of a potential 394 ballots forged for the Corridor of Fame, or 99.7%.

The Baseball Corridor of Fame doesn’t make ballots public. Some voters select to take action, however others hold their ballots personal. As of Wednesday, the voter who declined to decide on Suzuki had but to step ahead.

On sports activities speak exhibits and social media, commentators, followers and gamers alike groaned concerning the voter. “Whoever is the person who did not vote for Ichiro, he or she must step forward and explain themselves. Not to be pilloried — I’d just like to hear the reasoning, because I can’t fathom a single reason,” stated longtime analyst Bob Costas on MLB Community.

Former Seattle Mariners participant Ichiro Suzuki reacts Tuesday as he’s elected into the Nationwide Baseball Corridor of Fame. He obtained a near-unanimous vote on the 2025 Baseball Writers Affiliation of America Corridor of Fame Poll. Suzuki is the primary Japanese-born participant named to the Nationwide Baseball Corridor of Fame.

Steph Chambers/Getty Pictures

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Steph Chambers/Getty Pictures

Voters could identify as much as 10 gamers on their poll. Some speculated the thriller voter felt Ichiro was a lock and as a substitute used their 10 choices strategically with the intention to hold different gamers eligible for future ballots. Or maybe it was merely a mistake.

All through his profession, Suzuki was by no means the sort to be rattled or offended by a lot. On Tuesday, he stated that it was “really good” that he had fallen in need of unanimity.

“Being imperfect is good, I think,” he stated. “In life, it’s because you’re imperfect that you can keep moving forward.”