Other bits of intrigue ahead of Tuesday's 6 p.m. announcement: Will CC Sabathia be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and is this the year Billy Wagner gets in?

Ichiro was the first Japanese position player to appear in an MLB game, and he will be the first Japanese player enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame during the induction ceremony on July 27 in Cooperstown, N.Y.

He won both American League Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year honours in 2001, going on to earn 10 All-Star nods, 10 Gold Glove awards and three Silver Slugger Awards. Read more at straitstimes.

Ichiro joins fellow Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. (No. 24) and Edgar Martinez (No. 11), along with Jackie Robinson (No. 42) as the only players to have their number retired by the Mariners. In a pregame ceremony on Aug. 9, Ichiro's No. 51 will officially be hung up for good.

Takeaways from an election in which Ichiro, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner punched their tickets to Cooperstown.

The hometown of Japanese baseball legend Ichiro Suzuki led celebrations Wednesday after he became the first Asian player to be elect

Ichiro Suzuki, the dominant contact hitter whose 19 years in the major leagues, most of them with the Seattle Mariners, were lined with records and accolades, on Tuesday became the first Asian player elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame.

The hometown of Japanese baseball legend Ichiro Suzuki led celebrations Wednesday after he became the first Asian player to be inducted into the U.S. National Baseball Hall of Fame. A banner congratulating the former Seattle Mariners outfielder for being elected to the baseball halls of fame in both Japan and the United States will be displayed at

The career .311 MLB hitter was the 2001 AL MVP and Rookie of the Year and won 10 consecutive AL Gold Glove Awards, all with the Mariners.

Ichiro was the first Japanese position player to appear in an MLB game, and he will be the first Japanese player enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame during the induction ceremony on July 27 in Cooperstown, N.Y.

It started in 1992. That’s when Ichiro made his debut in professional baseball. In 1992, Ichiro made his debut for the Orix Blue Wave at the age of 18.

Global baseball’s hit king Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese-born player elected to Major League baseball’s Hall of Fame on Tuesday, just one vote shy of unanimous selection. The Seattle Mariners star headlines the 2025 Hall of Fame class to be enshrined at Cooperstown,