HOF election ‘a special day’ for former M’s star Ichiro

SEATTLE – Before he entered the doors of the Seattle Mariners’ interview room at T-Mobile Park, a familiar chant from a group in the halls could be heard from inside the room.

“I-CHI-RO! I-CHI-RO!”

For those who spent countless spring and summer hours watching the Mariners in the 2000’s, the three-syllable chant is synonymous with baseball in the Pacific Northwest.

On Tuesday, the player responsible for eliciting those cheers received the call everyone expected him to, as Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese player to be elected to the baseball Hall of Fame.

“I started in 2001 and, well, now it’s 2025. But at that time in 2001, there was probably not one person on this earth that thought that this day would come,” Ichiro said through interpreter Allen Turner. “And obviously a lot of things have happened. There are many. Not just good, but there’s some bad too. But through all the things that have happened, to be able to be here means quite a bit, and just very honored and a special day for me to be here.”

Ichiro nearly became the first position player to unanimously be selected. He fell just one vote shy with 393 of the 394 ballots turned in by members of the Baseball Writer’s Association of America featuring a checkmark next to his name. Ichiro joined former Yankees great Derek Jeter as players to fall one vote shy of unanimous selection, and he just edged out former teammate Ken Griffey Jr., who secured all but three votes in 2016.

Ichiro said there was a timeline in place for when he’d get the call about his selection. The call was supposed to come in at 2:15 p.m. It didn’t until about 15 minutes later, which had the superstitious star a little worried.

Related: Drayer: Ichiro’s remarkable journey to baseball immortality

“I started to think maybe it’s not going to come,” he said, generating a big laugh from the room. “And so there’s the nerves and those worries that came. And once (the call) came, it was more of a relief because it did come. So I think the happiness and all the joy will probably come later. At that time, it was just a relief.”

Ichiro recalled moments from his storied career. Of course, there was mention of breaking George Sisler’s single-season hits record back in 2004 and his farewell in 2019 when he played his final MLB game inside the Tokyo Dome. But some of the moments that stood out most 10-time All-Star may be a bit of a surprise, like how much it meant to receive the welcome back he did when rejoining the Mariners in 2018.

“Obviously grateful for the organization that brought me back, but I remember that opening day 2018, how warm and welcoming the fans were,” he said. “And that moment will definitely be a top-five moment in my career – where the Seattle fans really accepted me again – and it just meant so much to have felt them. And as I’ve gone through my career, (I’ve) met with lots of people and obviously I interacted with many people, but I felt like those people’s kindness and their feelings really helped me perform and also be the person that I am.

“So that interaction of that 2018 with the fans, it means a whole lot, and obviously the feelings that I have towards the Seattle fans is very special.”

Ichiro spent 19 seasons in MLB, including 14 with Seattle. He won 10 Gold Gloves, an MVP, two American League batting titles and three Silver Sluggers. He’s one of just seven players with 3,000 hits and 500 stolen bases. Between his decorated career in Japan and his time in the big leagues, he amassed a whopping 4,367 hits – the most ever by a pro baseball player.

He also sits atop Seattle leaderboard for a number of categories, including hits, batting average, triples and stolen bases.

It all adds up to an impressive list of accomplishments for the first-ever Japanese position player to play in MLB.

Related: Mariners legend Ichiro makes history with Hall of Fame election

“Coming over, there was definitely – I felt like there was going to be judgment, especially the hitters that hit for a high average,” said Ichiro, who won seven batting titles in Japan before coming to the United States. “I felt like there was going to be judgment on Japanese baseball. And so there’s definitely that pressure in that I knew that how I performed was going to be really looked at as ‘this is Japanese baseball.’

“After three years of playing in the major leagues, I felt like I was able to show people here that this is what I can do, and that’s kind of when I felt like that I belonged and that people saw what I was capable of.”

As for being the first-ever player from his home country to reach the Baseball Hall of Fame, it hasn’t quite set all the way in.

“Right now, I really don’t know what it’s going to do or how this is going to impact anybody or anything. I’m not sure, but probably I’ll look back at this years down the road and say, ‘Oh, this was great or this was this,’” he said. “So at this moment, it’s tough to say what it means to me now, but I’ll know later what this is and what this means to me.”

More on the Seattle Mariners

• How King Félix, other former Mariners did in 2025 Hall of Fame voting
• Mariners pick up reliever, DFA recent addition to make room
• Wilson: Seattle Mariners focused on consistency and doing ‘the little things’
• Report: Seattle Mariners take flier on hard-throwing Japanese reliever
• Drayer: The fascinating Hall of Fame case of Félix Hernández
• Yorger Bautista highlights Mariners’ 12 international signings

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