Enrollment is a matter of time. Ichiro Suzuki (50), a Japanese baseball hero, has already made the U.S. scene hot with regards to being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
The Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) released the results of the vote for the Hall of Fame inductees on the 25th (Korean time). Scott Rolen, who was considered a third baseman who had both offense and defense as a player, scored 297 votes (76.3% of the votes) and succeeded in being inducted into the Hall of Fame. Rolen was the only one this year to exceed 75% of the vote and enter the Hall of Fame.
Retired players who qualify as candidates will be added next year as well. MLB grants candidates for the Hall of Fame five years after retirement for players who have played for at least 10 years. If you pass the BBWAA vote and pass 75% of the votes, you will be admitted, and if you do not pass for 10 years, you will lose your candidacy.
MLB.com, the official homepage of the Major League Baseball (MLB), evaluated that Adrian Beltre, who played as a colleague with Shin-soo Choo in the past, is likely to enter the 2024 season among the newly qualified candidates. Beltre has 3,166 hits in his major league career, and has won four All-Star games, four Silver Sluggers, and five Gold Gloves.
In 2025, an even bigger star, Ichiro Suzuki, is nominated. ESPN of the United States predicted, “I wouldn’t be surprised if Ichiro gets a unanimous vote like Mariano Rivera.”
Ichiro, who made his MLB debut with the Seattle Mariners in 2001 after playing in Nippon Professional Baseball, caused a sensation by winning MVP and Rookie of the Year in his first year. Since 2001, he has accumulated 200 hits for 10 consecutive years, and in 2004, he scored 262 hits, the most in a season in the MLB. During his MLB career 19 seasons, with a batting average of 0.311, 3089 hits, 117 home runs, 1420 runs scored, 780 RBIs and 509 stolen bases, MLB has become a symbol of consistency and contact.
In terms of WAR (contribution to victory versus substitute players) alone, it cannot be said to be the best among all-time candidates. But the same goes for Rivera. Rivera was the best finisher in MLB history with 652 career saves, but he didn’t contribute more than previous Hall of Fame pitchers. However, his unparalleled footprint in the field of finishing won the hearts of the voting corps. Ichiro was not a home run hitter either, but as he left an unrivaled record, he has a good chance of winning the unanimous vote of the voting corps.