Ichiro was voted for on 393 out of the total 394 ballots. With media members and fans calling the person to come forward, even with Ichiro jokingly "inviting him" to a drink at his place, there was a storm on social media after Ichiro, CC Sabathia, and Billy Wagner represented the 2025 Hall of Fame Class.
Even ESPN First Take's Stephen A. Smith couldn't believe it.
Ichiro becomes only the second person in MLB history to fall one vote short of a unanimous decision, with the first being New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.
The new Hall of Fame outfielder who spent the majority of his career with the Seattle Mariners would've been just the second player in MLB history to receive a unanimous election into Cooperstown, the first, also a Yankee, being closer Mariano Rivera.
Ichiro, understandably, headlines the 2025 Hall of Fame class following an unmatched career. The phenom from Japan batted a career .311 average, wracking up 3,089 (25th all-time). Ichiro burst onto the MLB scene in 2001 when he led an All-Star season before being named AL Rookie of the Year and AL MVP while taking home his first of 10 Gold Gloves and first of three Silver Slugger Awards.
Ichiro, the first Japanese position player ever in the MLB, still holds the record for most hits in a single season (264), no player since has come close except one - also Ichiro three years later with 238 in 2007. The only modern player to even get relatively close was Jose Altuve in 2014 with 225 hits.
His 4,367 hits across his career in Japan and the MLB is the most of any baseball player in the history of the sport. But the craziest feat? Ichiro singled in his first at-bat in the third game of his career, lifting his batting average above .300. Since then, over the course of 2,650 games, his batting average never dipped below .300 ever again.