Editor's note: This story originally ran on Jan. 21, 2025. Ichiro is being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 27, 2025.
Ichiro Suzuki became a Hall of Famer when the Baseball Writers' Association of America revealed its ballots Tuesday night. Ichiro's stat line over more than two decades of excellence, first in Japan and then in MLB, made his election a slam dunk, but the legend of Ichiro is about much more than his 3,089 major league hits and .311 career average during 19 seasons with the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees and Miami Marlins.