Ichiro Has Hilarious Response to Lone Writer That Didn't Give Him Hall of Fame Vote

The New York Yankees will be well-represented in the 2025 National Baseball Hall of Fame class.

In addition to CC Sabathia getting the call to Cooperstown in his first year of eligibility, legendary Japanese outfielder Ichiro Suzuki will also be a first-ballot inductee. While primarily associated with the Seattle Mariners (with whom he played for 14 seasons), Ichiro also spent two and a half seasons with the Bronx Bombers from 2012 to 2014; he collected 311 of his 3,089 career hits in pinstripes, while slashing .281/.314/.364.

Congratulations to Ichiro on being elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame!

イチローさん、米国野球殿堂入りおめでとうございます! pic.twitter.com/71stGm0f8T
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) January 21, 2025

Thanks to his incredible resume, Ichiro was not only a slam-dunk candidate for the Hall of Fame, but had a legitimate chance to become just the second unanimous inductee in the 90-year history of the BBWAA ballot; legendary Yankees closer (and Ichiro's former teammate) Mariano Rivera became the first in 2019. However, Ichiro ultimately finished one vote shy of the distinction, placing on 393 of 394 ballots; his voting percentage of 99.7% is tied with Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter (another former teammate of Ichiro, and who also was one vote short of being unanimous) for the second-highest voting percentage of any inductee.

Despite the reveal of the ballot sparking outrage throughout the sport's community, Ichiro took the news in good humor. During Thursday's Hall of Fame press conference in Cooperstown, the outfielder hilariously extended an invitation to the voter who dared to be different.

"I was able to receive many votes from the writers, and I'm grateful for them, but there's one writer that I wasn't able to get a vote from," Ichiro said through interpreter Allen Turner. "I would like to invite him over to my house and we'll have a drink together and have a good chat."

Ichiro Suzuki offers to have the only writer that did not vote him into the Baseball Hall of Fame over to his house to "have a drink together and have a good chat" 🤣 pic.twitter.com/FlMzAbEp4R
— SNY (@SNYtv) January 23, 2025

Considering the simplicity of the question (is a player a Hall of Famer or not), as well as the 51-year-old's laundry list of accomplishments, the decision to leave a truly deserving candidate off a ballot just for the sake of preventing a unanimous vote is silly.

But a unanimous selection is no different from any induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and all that matters is that Ichiro is rightfully recognized as one of the greatest to play the game. The first-ever Japanese inductee also expressed his gratitude for being voted in before making his playful jab.

"I've been coming to the Hall of Fame as a player seven times and this is my eighth time here," Ichiro said. "What an honor it is for me to be here as a Hall of Famer. This is a very special moment."