Japanese legend Ichiro Suzuki is 100% short of being inducted into the U.S. Baseball Hall of Fame by just one vote, and it is not yet known who is the mysterious person who did not vote for Ichiro in the American Baseball Writers Association (BBWAA). Ichiro publicly expressed his goodwill and expressed his willingness to have a good talk with the person who disagreed.

Ichiro Suzuki had been to the Hall of Fame seven times before attending the press conference on Thursday with the other in-elects, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner, who will be inducted on July 27 alongside the likes of Dave Parker and Dick Allen, who were voted on by the Classic Era Committee last month.

For Ichiro Suzuki, it will be difficult to become the first Japanese player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

"Maybe in 5 or 10 years, I'll look back, maybe we'll be able to say, that's what it was all about." , said Ichiro Suzuki.

This is not the first time that Ichiro Suzuki has been unanimously elected with only one vote shy of one.

Jack O'Connell, secretary and treasurer of BBWAA (American Baseball Writers Association), recalled, "In 2001, Ichiro Suzuki was in the lobby when I called to inform the Seattle star that he had been voted League Newcomer of the Year, and Ichiro Suzuki received 27 of the 28 first-place votes, except for one from an Ohio writer who chose CC Sabathia.

"I got a lot of votes, I thank those who gave me votes, I can't get the votes of one of them, I want to invite him to my house, let's have a drink and talk," Ichiro said through an interpreter. It can be seen that Ichiro is smiling and relaxed, and he is just joking.

Who didn't vote for Ichiro? According to the BBWAA's 2016 Winter Meeting, it was overwhelmingly passed that every writer must make their vote public, but this opinion was rejected by the Hall of Fame Board of Directors, who still allowed writers to vote anonymously. In 2022, a total of 78.4% of writers voluntarily made their votes public.

In any case, Ichiro has received much more recognition in American baseball than in Japan. He was inducted into the Wild Ball Hall of Fame in Japan's baseball hall of fame for the first time, receiving 323/349 votes, of which 26 Japanese journalists did not vote for him (92.6% of the vote, 75% threshold). On the other hand, the American writer sent him to the American Baseball Hall of Fame with 393/394 votes (99.7% of the vote, 75% of the threshold), after all, Ichiro played 9 years in the Japanese job and 19 years in the major leagues, and his achievements in the American baseball world are even more dazzling.

Ichiro Suzuki had been to the Hall of Fame seven times before attending the press conference on Thursday with the other in-elects, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner, who will be inducted on July 27 alongside the likes of Dave Parker and Dick Allen, who were voted on by the Classic Era Committee last month.

For Ichiro Suzuki, it will be difficult to become the first Japanese player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

"Maybe in 5 or 10 years, I'll look back, maybe we'll be able to say, that's what it was all about." , said Ichiro Suzuki.

This is not the first time that Ichiro Suzuki has been unanimously elected with only one vote shy of one.

Jack O'Connell, secretary and treasurer of BBWAA (American Baseball Writers Association), recalled, "In 2001, Ichiro Suzuki was in the lobby when I called to inform the Seattle star that he had been voted League Newcomer of the Year, and Ichiro Suzuki received 27 of the 28 first-place votes, except for one from an Ohio writer who chose CC Sabathia.