It won't be official until the voting is released, but Ichiro Suzuki is heading to the Hall of Fame.
The Japanese outfielder is expected to be one of the names inducted into Cooperstown in the 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame class. A 10-time All-Star, 10-time Gold Glove Award winner, two-time AL batting champion, and AL MVP recipient, Suzuki starred in the league for nearly two decades, known most for his time with the Mariners.
Suzuki is regarded as the greatest contact hitter of all-time. Between his time in the Nippon Professional Baseball League and MLB, he has the most combined hits of all-time out of a batter. He recorded 1,278 in Japan's pro league and then 3,089 in MLB, giving him a total of 4,367, which is higher than Pete Rose's MLB record of 4,256.
It's not a matter of if Suzuki will get into the Hall of Fame -- it's a matter of if he will be a unanimous selection. The Japanese phenom has a chance at making MLB history if he were to receive 100% of the votes for the 2025 ballot.
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Here's more to know about unanimous Hall of Famers in MLB history and how Suzuki could join an exclusive list.
There have been a plethora of names to enter into the Hall of Fame, but there currently is only one that was a unanimous selection -- Mariano Rivera. All 425 ballots that were submitted in 2019 included the legendary Yankees closer on them.
A number of other players have come close, but no one else has unanimously been elected to the Hall of Fame. One ballot left Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter off in 2020, giving him a 99.74% vote. Outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. received 99.32% of the votes, with three of the 440 voters opting not to check his name on the ballot in 2016.
The first -- and only -- unanimous baseball Hall of Famer has been Rivera. All 425 voters in 2019 checked his name off on the ballot, making MLB Hall of Fame history.
Rivera was one of four inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019. In addition to the all-time saves leader, the HOF added pitchers Roy Halladay and Mike Mussina, as well as DH/3B Edgar Martinez to the exclusive group.
Here is a look at the voting for the 2019 ballot.
There is a good chance that Suzuki becomes just the second player to be a unanimous selection into the Hall of Fame.
He is in his first year of Hall of Fame eligibility and is expected to be checked off on a majority of the ballots, if not all of them. The full voting results will be revealed later in the day on Tuesday.
Suzuki paved the way for Japanese players to make a career in the MLB. He's doing the same with the Hall of Fame.
With the outfielder's induction into the Hall of Fame in 2025, he makes history as the first Japanese player to join the prestigious group. No other player from the country has earned enough votes to get into the Hall of Fame.