‘Renaissance man’ Ichiro will make history with Baseball Hall of Fame

The first time Ichiro Suzuki set foot into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. was nearly a quarter-century ago, back on Nov. 12, 2001.

Suzuki, who had already donated a bat from his MVP and Rookie of the Year campaign during the season, wanted to check out the hallowed site reserved for baseball’s greatest players and completely mesmerized by the history of his surroundings.

He was in the museum the same day he received a telephone call from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, informing him that he was the AL Rookie of the Year winner, receiving every first-place vote but one. When it came time to get on a conference call in then-Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson’s office, he wasn’t about to let everyone know where he was.

When asked, he simply said, “I’m in America.’

He then spent the rest of the time with his wife and Idelson touring the museum, focusing on the Hall of Fame art collection.

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“It became pretty quickly to me that this guy was a renaissance man,’ Idelson, who is close friends with Suzuki, tells USA TODAY Sports. “He was much more than baseball. It was the culture of baseball, his admiration, and he wanted to understand that, starting with the art collection, and learning about another collection every subsequent trip.

“It was pretty impressive.’

Suzuki, now 51, was so overwhelmed and in awe of the museum that he returned eight times during his career, easily the most by any active player, Idelson says.

Now, Cooperstown, N.Y., will be the permanent residence for Suzuki, who will be elected Tuesday into Baseball’s Hall of Fame, perhaps becoming only the second player to be a unanimous selection, joining New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera.

“I think it will have huge meaning to him, very significant,’ Idelson says. “There’s no one who appreciates baseball history in America and Japan, and in general than him. It’s the capstone to an incredible career, not only in in the United States, but in Japan.

“His respect for the game, his wanting to assimilate and take it to another level – and you can argue that he did.

“His election into the Hall of Fame will have a great significance to him. It won’t define him, because his career defines him, but having that plaque in Cooperstown and being the first Japanese-born player to do so is monumental.’

Suzuki is expected to be one of three players on Tuesday who will receive the call into the Hall of Fame, joining starter CC Sabathia and closer Billy Wagner. They will join Dave Parker and the late Dick Allen, elected by the Hall of Fame Classic Era committee, at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony on July 27.

“This is the ultimate honor for Ichiro,’ says John Boggs, Suzuki’s agent. “He has such high respect for the Hall. Really, just a great reverence for it.

“He’s such a student of the game, that’s why he kept going back, to soak in the history of the game.’

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There was never a question whether Suzuki would receive the call, not after producing 3,089 hits (4,367 counting his Japan statistics), batting .311, winning two batting titles, 10 Gold Glove awards and being a 10-time All-Star.

Suzuki and Fred Lynn were the only players in history to win the MVP and AL Rookie of the Year in the same season. He received 27 of 28 first-place votes in the Rookie of the Year balloting when he set the rookie record with 242 hits, hitting a league-leading .350 with 56 steals. The other first-place vote? It went to Sabathia, who’s expected to join him on the Cooperstown stage.

Suzuki dominated at the plate, producing at least 200 hits with a Gold Glove and All-Star selection in each of his first 10 seasons – the only player to achieve the feat. He not only was the best pure hitter in the game, a magician at the plate, but also played every single game in four of his first 12 seasons.

Suzuki, who played 19 years in the big leagues despite not beginning his MLB career until he was 27, would still be playing today if someone wanted him. Even now, he’s in the best shape of any Seattle Mariners player when he shows up as a guest instructor each spring. He recently pitched to a teenage Japanese women’s All-Star team, throwing a complete game at the Tokyo Dome.

He threw 171 pitches, Idelson says.

“It’s just unbelievable,’ Idelson says, “how much he loves this game.’’

Suzuki was the first name I checked in my Hall of Fame ballot this year, also checking the boxes for Sabathia, Wagner, outfielders Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones, and shortstop Omar Vizquel. Jones and Beltran will likely be elected next year, while Vizquel, an 11-time Gold Glove winner with 2,877 hits, will never be elected by the writers after being sued for sexual harassment by a minor league batboy in 2021, which was settled out of court.

The exit polling by Ryan Thibodaux’s Hall of Fame voting tracker strips away any suspense from the election, but hardly diminishes the greatness of Sabathia and Wagner, too.

Sabathia, who finished in the top five in Cy Young voting for five consecutive seasons, winning it in 2007, was the ultimate workhorse. He pitched 3,577⅓ innings, the most of any pitcher during his 19-year career – with five seasons of at least 230 innings. He also won 251 games with 12 shutouts. He is one of only three lefties in history with 250 wins and 3,000 strikeouts. Only future Hall of Famers Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer have struck out more batters this century.

Sabathia was also a World Series champion with the New York Yankees. Yet, he’ll forever be remembered for his unselfishness in his three-month stay with the Milwaukee Brewers. He made five consecutive starts on short rest in Sept. 2008, leading the Brewers to their first playoff berth in 26 years. He did it despite joining the Brewers as a rental, refusing to worry that his workload could lead to injury in his final weeks before hitting free agency.

Wagner, who finished just five votes shy of election last year, was one of the most dominant strikeout pitchers in baseball history. He struck out 33.2% of the batters he faced, with a major-league record 11.92 strikeouts per nine innings. He also yielded a .187 batting average, the lowest since 1900. He saved 422 games, the eight-most by a reliever, and will finally gain entrance on his 10th and final year of eligibility.

Hall of Fame officials expect a potential record crowd for the induction ceremony with this class, perhaps eclipsing the 82,000 in attendance for Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. in 2007 – but there will no bigger star than Suzuki.

“Even after leaving Japan a quarter-century ago,’ Idelson says, “he’s still so revered there. They respect him so much and will show their appreciation at his induction ceremony.’

And for Suzuki, he will pay the ultimate homage by donating his entire collection of milestone baseballs, bats, gloves and uniforms. He promised Idelson during his career that whatever the Hall of Fame wanted, it was theirs to keep forever.

“He’s always been completely enamored by the Hall of Fame’s collection,’ Idelson says, “and how the Hall of Fame cares for its collection. And after Hank Aaron and Tom Seaver donated their entire collection, he wanted to be the third player to do that.

“He trusted the Hall of Fame to care for his collection forever.’

And now, he’ll have a plaque that will be on the wall in the hallowed Hall of Fame gallery right along with it.

“He’ll be so honored of being an official member of the Hall of Fame with all of the other all-time greats,’ Boggs said. “And once he’s in there, well, you better believe he’s going to keep coming back and back and back.

“He may never leave.

“My God, what a legend.’

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