Derek Jeter Calls For Hall of Fame Voter Accountability After Ichiro's Unanimous Snub

New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter made his opinion of Ichiro Suzuki not being a unanimous Hall of Fame inductee extremely clear.

Oct 26, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Fox Sports broadcaster Derek Jeter speaks on field after game two between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees in the 2024 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The three inductees of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 205 were announced on January 21, with former New York Yankees superstars CC Sabathia and Ichiro Suzuki earning the honor along with longtime Mets reliever Billy Wagner.

Given that Ichiro is one os the most accomplished hitters in baseball history, there was no doubt he would earn the Hall of Fame nod as soon as he was eligible. Rather, the question was whether he would be the first unanimous inductee hitter in Hall of Fame history. The only unanimous indiuctee was Yankees legend Mariano Rivera in 2019.

Alas, when the results of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America's (BBWAA) 394 ballots were revealed on Tuesday, 393 of them included Suzuki and one did not.

Yankees legend Derek Jeter (who showed Sabathia and Suzuki a lot of love when the inductees was announced) knows the feeling. His name was included on 396 of the 397 eligible ballots when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2020.

While Jeter didn't make a major fuss back then, he made his opinion extremely clear in the wake of Ichiro's unanimous snub, which was conveyed in a January 24 article from Ryan Morik of Fox News.

"A lot of players have been unbelievable that are in the Hall of Fame and haven’t gotten 100% of the vote. I never expected it, and I would never sit here and say everyone should’ve voted for me or everyone should have voted for Ichiro," Jeter was quoted saying to Fox News.

"The only thing I do think is fair is that I think a lot of members of the media want athletes to be responsible and accountable; I think they should do the same thing. I get asked this question, I get tired of being asked this question, and I think they should answer it."

Derek Jeter says voters should be 'accountable' after Ichiro falls 1 vote shy of unanimous Hall of Fame nod https://t.co/25JpoAVVrn

— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 24, 2025

As of right now, the BBWAA voters can keep their anonymity if they so desire. But perhaps that will change in the future if more clearly deserving players don't receive a unanimous vote.