Ichiro Thanks Wife, Mentor after Hall of Fame Vote; Calls Cooperstown Entry His ‘Greatest Recognition as Player’

By Yu Hirasawa / Yomiuri Shimbun Sportswriter

2:00 JST, January 23, 2025

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Ichiro Suzuki expressed his gratitude to his wife, Yumiko, and the late Akira Ogi, his mentor and former Orix BlueWave skipper, on Tuesday after he was voted into the U.S. National Baseball Hall of Fame.

“I want to thank my wife first of all,” Ichiro said at an online press conference.

Ichiro, 51, who boasts a total of 4,367 hits in Japan and the United States, is the first Japanese player to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Although he just missed out on a unanimous vote, his achievements in the Major Leagues were once again recognized as outstanding.

“If I hadn’t had the chance to meet Ogi, I wouldn’t have become Ichiro in katakana,” said Ichiro, referring to writing of his name in katakana script as part of efforts to distinguish him. “I don’t think people would have known me as much as they do now, either.”

During the 2000 offseason, Ichiro moved from the Orix BlueWave to the Seattle Mariners. In 2004, he broke the Major League record for most hits in a season with 262, and ultimately accumulated 3,089 hits over the course of 19 years.

“I don’t think anyone on the planet imagined that [I would be inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame] at the time I joined the Major Leagues,” Ichiro said.

He reflected on the significance of this honor, saying, “This is the greatest recognition I have received as a player.”

“This is praise for the past, so I want to think about how I should live now,” Ichiro said.

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Ichiro Jokes in Seattle

By Toshiaki Obitsu / Yomiuri Shimbun Sportswriter

SEATTLE — After the online event, Ichiro held another press conference at the Mariners’ home stadium in Seattle.

Wearing a white T-shirt and a dark blue jacket, Ichiro spoke as if he was savoring each word. He described his feelings as he waited for the phone call that would tell him the outcome of the vote, saying, “When the phone didn’t ring [by the scheduled time], I became very anxious.”

“I was relieved when it finally rang,” Ichiro said, drawing laughter from the Japanese and American journalists gathered at the stadium.

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Father Thanks Fans

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Ichiro’s father, Nobuyuki Suzuki, expressed his gratitude to his son’s fans on Wednesday.

“I think the support [my son] has received from fans all over the country made [this award] possible,” Nobuyuki, 82, said to the press in front of his home in Toyoyama, Aichi Prefecture.

Ichiro fell short of a unanimous endorsement by just one vote. Nobuyuki said: “I was wondering if such a perfect person existed. I’m relieved.”