The Sporting News- Ichiro Suzuki made his name in Japan and his mark in Seattle.
Now, the 51-year old finds a new home: Cooperstown.
With Tuesday’s announcement, he becomes the first Japanese player inducted into Cooperstown.
But more history beckoned for Ichiro had the voters or rather, one voter been kinder.
At present moment, it’s unclear which BBWAA member left Ichiro off of their Hall of Fame ballot.
However, it seems one voter wasn’t convinced of his credentials.
Suzuki was named on 324 of 325 ballots.
One voter opted to keep him out of baseball’s eternal home.
He’s not the only former Seattle star to receive such treatment.
In 2016, Ken Griffey Jr. was inducted into Cooperstown.
The Kid was kept off just three of the 440 ballots used (99.3%).
Ichiro Suzuki, gets inducted into the Hall of Fame on his first ballot.
He shouldve waltzed into Cooperstown with a standing ovation from every corner of the baseball world.
But no, one self-important baseball writer decides to leave him off their ballot.
For what, exactly?
What the fuck are we doing here?
What makes it even worse is we allow them to hide behind the shield of anonymity.
(Sidebar - want a good chuckle?
Look at this graph.)
The entire system is fucked.
It makes zero sense.
The folks who get to decide who makes it into the Hall of Fame have never played the game.
What the hell are we doing here?
Talk about outrageous hypocrisy here.
This is like draft-dodging politicians deciding who goes to war.
That year, voting had two rounds.
The erroneous gun-jumping announcement harmed (DiMaggio) in two directions.
It also created resentment elsewhere by making other writers feel that DiMaggio was being stampeded into the Hall.
So they just refused to enter his name on the ten-name list."
DiMaggio and Monroe had married roughly ten days before the Hall of Fame voting results were released.
You know, like how a club works?
They know whats real.
They understand what the game means.
Throw them in the fuckin bathroom.
I still think to this day, one of the best suggestions/solutions to this all comes from Bill Simmons.
Simmons viewed the the Hall of Fame as something far bigger than just a plaque gallery.
The good, the bad, the weird, and even the scandalous.
By treating Cooperstown as a museum, youre essentially saying you better include the legends.
You display his story- achievements, controversies, and all, to educate future generations about what actually happened.
Good museum exhibits arent about celebrating every piece of history; theyre about preserving and explaining it.
It should also reflect the evolution of the game.
Baseball is a constantly changing sport.
Slow as molasses, but it’s been around over a century and has come a long way.
A museum approach brings those stories to life in context.
Its historians, fans, and the general baseball community contributing to all of the exhibits.
Simmons argued that Cooperstown should function like the Smithsonian of Baseball, and I agree.
So you walk out with a richer understanding of the game.
The Hall-of-Fame-as-museum model asks- how do we properly preserve the story of baseball for future generations?
Instead of-should we give so-and-so our personal seal of approval?
This is a broken system, and its time we all admit it.
Here are some of the more absurd Ichiro stats and highlights.
But my eyes see none.
That looks like the real deal to me.
He promptly went 2-for-4 in the next game and never looked back.)
Again, ABSOLUTE FREAK.
If those videos weren’t enough for you, dive into this 32-minute gem.
