Ichiro Suzuki to Donate Personal Collection to Baseball Hall of Fame

Mar 21, 2019; Tokyo,JPN; Seattle Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki (51) tips his cap after being removed from the game during the eighth inning against the Oakland Athletics at Tokyo Dome. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

When Ichiro Suzuki goes into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 27th, he plans on bringing more than his smile and charm. Ichiro is donating his entire personal collection to the museum.

Following the footsteps of All-Time greats like Hank Aaron and Tom Seaver, Ichiro wants fans to enjoy seeing history, instead of just reading about it.

Per ESPN, the former National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum President Jeff Idelson stated: “It culminated with him wanting to follow in the footsteps of Hank Aaron and Tom Seaver, two players who pledged their entire collections to Cooperstown," Idelson said. "Ichiro said, 'I want to be the third much later in my life.”

Ichiro was one of the greatest players of his generation. Playing in Japan for the first part of his career, he didn’t swing a back in the MLB until the age of 27.

The next 19 years was magical for baseball.

Ichiro accumulated over 3000 hits, hitting over 200 in a season 10 years in a row. His rookie season he took home the Rookie of the Year, as well as the league MVP. He is considered one of the greatest right fielders of all time, with an absolute cannon for an arm. When on the basepath you couldn’t ignore him. Ichiro was known to steal a few bags, finishing with over 500 stolen bases. By the time he hung up his cleats, Ichiro was a 10X All-Star, 10X Gold Glove winner, and 2X batting champion.

The greatest achievement came when he received 99.9% of votes last month to become the first Japanese-born inductee into the Hall of Fame. This year he will be joined by CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner, Dave Parker and Dick Allen.

It would be incredible to see what Ichiro plans on donating to the museum. Will there be uniforms from his days playing in Japan for the Orix Blue Wave? Will there be autographs he accumulated before playing for the Seattle Mariners? What unique items will there be, that will generate additional memories of one of the greatest hitters of all time?

What an amazing gesture by Ichiro, one that I hope millions get to enjoy.