As Tuesday’s announcement of the 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame Class approached, it was widely anticipated that ten-time All-Star outfielder Ichiro Suzuki would secure his election to Cooperstown. Ultimately, he received support from all but one voter, leading to the inevitable question: Who omitted Suzuki from their ballot?
To earn a spot in the Hall of Fame, players need 296 votes out of the 394 ballots cast. In his first year of eligibility, Suzuki exceeded this requirement, garnering 99.746% of the vote (393 votes). This percentage is the second-highest ever received by a position player, only trailing Derek Jeter, who was one vote shy of unanimous election in 2020. Throughout his remarkable 19-year MLB career, Suzuki achieved 3,089 hits, 117 home runs, 509 stolen bases, ten Gold Glove awards, and two batting titles, complementing these accomplishments with a prolific nine-year stint in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.
For nearly all baseball fans, Ichiro Suzuki epitomizes what it means to be a Hall of Famer. Consequently, media commentators began speculating on the identity and reasoning behind the lone voter who chose not to support him. “Ichiro missed unanimity by 1 vote,” tweeted Jon Heyman of the New York Post. “Please step forward, you numbskull.”
Ichiro missed unanimity by 1 vote. Please step forward, you numbskull
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 21, 2025
“Ichiro Suzuki not unanimously getting voted in is just ridiculous,” remarked former 670 The Score host, Herb Lawrence, on X. “I know the ‘what does it matter’ crowd are out there but it matters because the people who didn’t vote for him are baseball illiterate and should not be trusted with this prestigious honor.”
Ichiro Suzuki not unanimously getting voted in is just ridiculous.
I know the “what does it matter” crowd are out there but it matters because the people who didn’t vote for him are baseball illiterate & should not be trusted with this prestigious honor pic.twitter.com/AQ6aXtwCmR— Herb Lawrence (@Ecnerwal23) January 21, 2025
“Not sure how you could be a Hall of Fame voter looking at Ichiro’s body of work and be like ‘Yeah, I just don’t see it,’” wrote Jared Carrabis of the Baseball is Dead podcast.
Not sure how you could be a Hall of Fame voter looking at Ichiro’s body of work and be like, “Yeah, I just don’t see it.”
— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) January 21, 2025
ESPN’s Buster Olney pointed out, “Somebody didn’t vote for Ichiro, after his MLB career of: 3,089 hits, 1,420 runs, 509 SB, 10 Gold Gloves, an MVP Award, 2 batting titles, a season of 262 hits, and 10 All-Star selections.”
Somebody didn’t vote for Ichiro, after his MLB career of:
3,089 hits
1,420 runs
509 SB
10 Gold Gloves
An MVP Award
2 batting titles
A season of 262 hits
10 All-Star selections— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) January 21, 2025
Additionally, Fox Sports MLB analyst Ben Verlander urged the unidentified voter to come forward: “Ichiro missed being a unanimous Hall of Famer by 1 vote. Out yourself. Who didn’t vote for Ichiro? And why?”
Ichiro missed being a unanimous Hall of Famer by 1 vote.
Out yourself. Who didn’t vote for Ichiro? And why?— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) January 21, 2025
At the end of the day, the most significant aspect is that Ichiro will rightfully be inducted into Cooperstown on July 27. However, this situation raises questions about the qualifications of those casting votes if one was willing to leave a guaranteed candidate like Suzuki off their ballot. Unfortunately, the identity of the anonymous voter may remain a mystery, as a proposal to make all Hall of Fame ballots public was rejected by The Board of Directors of the Hall of Fame in 2016.
