Could Ichiro become the Hall of Fame's first unanimous position player?

This story was excerpted from Daniel Kramer’s Mariners Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SEATTLE -- It’s not a matter of if Ichiro Suzuki will be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, but rather, if he’ll become the first position player to do so unanimously via the vote from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Suzuki was among 14 newcomers on this year’s BBWAA ballot, which was revealed earlier this week -- along with fellow Mariners icon Félix Hernández -- and will likely be a shoe-in when the results are announced on Jan. 21, live on MLB Network.

But the question is whether Suzuki will be listed on each ballot, an accumulation that has eluded all 346 Hall of Famers other than Mariano Rivera, the longtime Yankees closer. Even Mariners great Ken Griffey Jr., widely considered to be among the greatest players of his era, if not all-time, was left off three of the 440 ballots in the 2016 class. Derek Jeter was the closest to the achievement but was left off one single ballot among the 397 in ‘20.

There were 400 ballots sent to eligible BBWAA members for 2025. The number fluctuates each year based on criteria, specifically that voters must be active and/or honorary members who’ve been active baseball writers for at least 10 years. Last year, there were 385.

Though most voters publicly reveal their ballots -- which are masterfully (though unofficially) tracked by social media personality Ryan Thibodaux -- many do not because they are permitted to keep it anonymous. Even within a massive group of journalists, it can consistently create a lack of transparency. There was notable outcry in the cases of Jeter and Griffey, but this issue goes back even further, to the likes of Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron.

All that is to say that it unfortunately wouldn’t be a significant shock if Suzuki is not unanimous, even if it does seem egregious if that comes to fruition.

Suzuki’s numbers speak for themselves. He was a two-time American League batting champion and 10-time Gold Glove Award winner, hitting .311 with 117 homers, 780 RBIs and 509 stolen bases with the Mariners (2001-12, 2018-19), the Yankees (2012-14) and Marlins (2015-17). He had a record 262 hits in 2004.

But a unanimous HOF selection should not merely consist of a player’s on-field performance, and this is where Suzuki should unquestionably shine. His influence on the game itself has been -- and remains -- global.

Moreover, Suzuki exemplified excellence and professionalism, and his relentless pursuit of greatness over two decades made him a beloved figure not only in Seattle but around the world, both among fans, teammates and peers.

Suzuki was also a bellwether for Japanese position players, as the first such player to be posted and signed to an MLB club -- ahead of that historic 2001 season in which he won the AL Rookie of the Year and MVP Awards -- paving the way for greats like Hideki Matsui, Nori Aoki and even Shohei Ohtani. He took great pride, but also put great pressure on himself, treating the opportunity more as a responsibility.

“I felt like I really carried that on my shoulders,” Suzuki told MLB.com ahead of the 2023 All-Star Game in Seattle, through longtime interpreter Allen Turner. “Like, people are going to judge the position players of Japan from the performance that I have here in MLB. And so I really took that to heart. I just wanted to make sure that, of course, failure was not an option. But even if I just had OK numbers, that wasn't good enough.”

He still has great influence on the game, too, as a special assistant to the chairman with the Mariners. He’s a regular presence at T-Mobile Park throughout the season, and has developed a special bond with the future of the franchise, Julio Rodríguez.

“He's been through so many different things and I know he's such a wise man,” Rodríguez said in 2023. “And it's true. ... He's helped me out a lot."

Suzuki was a revolutionary talent who paved the way for others to follow, and he continues to give back to the game. He embodies as much of a unanimous selection as anyone who’s reached this point.

“I think you can say that this is my life,” Suzuki said in that 2023 interview. “There's nothing else I can do but this so this is kind of why I'm here, why I'm alive.”