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Ichiro Suzuki invites lone writer who left him off HOF ballot to have 'drink together' and 'a good chat'

Dissenting voter remains a mystery. Decision put Ichiro in company with Derek Jeter as the only HOFers who fell 1 vote shy of being unanimous selections.

sean leahy
Contributing writer
·2-min read

It was no surprise to hear on Tuesday that Ichiro Suzuki was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year on the ballot. It was a surprise that he fell one vote short of being a unanimous selection as part of a 2025 class that also features CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner, Dick Allen and Dave Parker.

While Mariano Rivera remains the only Hall of Famer to be voted in unanimously by the Baseball Writers Association of America, Ichiro joins Derek Jeter (2020) as inductees who were one vote shy of joining the longtime New York Yankees closer in that elite category.

Ichiro received 393 votes out of a possible 394, something that he made sure to point that out in his opening statement during Thursday's Hall of Fame news conference in Cooperstown.

"I've been coming to the Hall of Fame as a player seven times and this is my eighth time here in the Hall of Fame, and what an honor it is for me to be here as a Hall of Famer," Ichiro said through an interpreter. "This is a very special moment. 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. I would like to invite him over to my house and we'll have a drink together and we'll have a good chat."

BBWAA writers can select up to 10 players on their ballots each year, but their choices are not automatically made public. Writers have the option to allow their selections to be revealed, which will happen Feb. 4 for this year's vote. Some take it upon themselves to disclose their picks on social media or in articles with an explanation — all of which are then tallied by Hall of Fame vote tracker Ryan Thibodaux.

Other writers, like the one who didn't vote for Jeter, stay quiet, leaving their identity a mystery.

But Ichiro can just be added to the list of greats who came close to being unanimous selections — a list that includes Ken Griffey Jr. (3 votes shy), Ty Cobb (4), Tom Seaver (5), Nolan Ryan (6), Cal Ripken Jr. (8), George Brett and Hank Aaron (9), among others.

Hall of Fame enshrinement wasn't the only honor bestowed on Ichiro this week as the Seattle Mariners announced that his number will be retired Aug. 9 as part of a weekend-long celebration of the Japanese superstar.

Ichiro's No. 51 will join Ken Griffey Jr.'s No. 24, Edgar Martinez's No. 11 and Jackie Robinson's No. 42 as retired numbers for the Mariners.