Ichiro's Hall of Fame week begins

Learning that you’ve been elected into the Hall of Fame is an honor only the most elite can experience. Learning that you’re being elected into two Halls of Fame is even more elusive.

Ichiro Suzuki is about to experience this all in one week.

The results of this year’s NPB Hall of Fame voting were announced on Thursday and Ichiro is one of four new inductees. According to Jason Coskrey at The Japan Times, former players Hitoki Iwase and Masayuki Kakefu, along with former Central League umpire Hiroya Tomizawa, will join him in this year’s HOF class.

Ichiro received 323 votes out of 349 ballots, or 92.6%.

The speedy outfielder spent nine seasons in the NPB with the Orix BlueWave, winning three straight MVP Awards (1994 to 1996), seven Gold Gloves, and seven batting titles. He became the first in NPB history to top 200 hits in 1994 when he hit .383/.445/.550 with 210 hits. The mark stood as the league’s single-season record until 2010.

He’d bat .353/.421/.522 over his career in Japan with 1,278 hits and 199 stolen bases.

Orix won the Japan Series in both 1995 and 1996 with Ichiro leading the way.

Iwase, the longtime Chunichi Dragons closer, retired as the NPB career leader in appearances (1,002) and saves (407). The left-hander posted a 2.31 ERA over his 19-year career.

Iwase received 88.8% of the vote.

Kakefu spent 15 years with the Hanshin Tigers. The six-time Gold Glove-winning third baseman hit .292/.381/.532 with 349 home runs and 1,019 RBI. He was named on 76.6% of ballots.

Tomizawa was an umpire in the CL for 35 years. According to Coskrey, he is credited with establishing the system that currently allows many NPB umpires to train in the US.

Six other Japanese players with MLB experience were also on the ballot this year but none received enough support: Kazuo Matsui (39.0%), Masumi Kuwata (32.1%), Koji Uehara (29.2%), Kenji Johjima (11.2%), Tadahito Iguchi (9.7%), and So Taguchi (3.2%).

The results of the BBWAA’s voting for MLB’s Hall of Fame will be announced on Tuesday evening. Ichiro will surely be among those receiving a call. The BBHOF Tracker currently projects four will be elected this year with CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner, and Carlos Beltrán joining him. With more than 150 known ballots so far, Ichiro has been named on 100% of them, leaving open the chance that he will be just the second player ever (after Mariano Rivera) to receive unanimous support for the HOF.

His impact on MLB was immediate. In his rookie season, Ichiro batted .350/.381/.457, leading the AL with 242 hits and 56 steals. He won the Rookie of the Year and MVP Awards, only the second player to achieve such a feat in the same season (after Fred Lynn).

Four years later he’d top that mark, collecting 262 hits en route to breaking George Sisler’s longstanding MLB record for a single season. Sisler had 257 hits in 1920, a number no player had really come close to topping.

Ichiro topped 200 hits in each of his first 10 seasons in the major leagues. He’d finish with 3,089 for his career. Adding in the 1,278 in Japan, that gives him 4,367 professional hits — 111 more than Pete Rose’s career total.

14 of Ichiro’s 19 seasons in MLB came with the Mariners, with three-year stints coming with the Yankees and Marlins. He won three Silver Sluggers, two batting titles, 10 Gold Gloves, and went to 10 All-Star Games. Collectively, he was a .311/.355/.402 hitter and he stole 509 bases.