Ichiro Suzuki just got elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Ichiro was one vote shy of unanimous.
The same happened with Derek Jeter in 2020: He got every vote but one.
Like then, there’s a battle cry to reveal who didn’t vote for Ichiro. Baseball’s gatekeepers are marching through the streets with torches and pitchforks: “He should out himself!” (Whoever snubbed Jeter was never revealed.)
But really, who cares?
What each voter decides is his own business.
Chances are that those who didn’t vote for Jeter and Ichiro decided thusly not because they felt that Jeter and Ichiro weren’t Hall-worthy, but because they felt they didn’t deserve to be unanimous.
Maybe they’re right. (I bet it was the same voter.)
Relief pitcher Mariano Rivera is the only unanimous pick. That’s absurd. He isn’t the best baseball player ever.
Ichiro got into Cooperstown, the first Japanese player to do so. That’s history enough.
Complaints about Ichiro being wronged are symptomatic of America’s desire to cast everything into misery, to create controversy where none should exist. You love to be mad.
Babe Ruth is arguably the greatest player ever and certainly took baseball to unfathomed heights popularity-wise. Ruth made baseball.
Ruth got 95% of the vote. Who the heck didn’t vote for Ruth? (Whoever it was, they’re dead.)
Roberto Clemente was a forerunner to Ichiro, loaded with grace, precision and every tool possible. A baseball machine. Clemente got 93% of the vote, and that was in a special election after he’d been martyred in a plane crash.
Barry Bonds is in a class with Ruth, maybe better, and he’s not in the Hall of Fame. (Because of PEDs.)
So who cares if Ichiro came one vote shy of unanimous? I bet Ichiro doesn’t.
Jeter did, lobbing shade at whoever didn’t vote for him during his Hall of Fame speech.
If Jeter had played in Kansas City, he’d be anonymous, not unanimous. Jeter got that New York City shine and entitlement.
If Jeter had been elected unanimously, would that have crowned him baseball’s best ever? Jeter isn’t even close.
Jeter isn’t top 50 all-time among position players.
Jeter wasn’t even the best shortstop on his Yankees teams. That was Alex Rodriguez, who got moved to third base via satisfying Jeter’s vanity. Rodriguez isn’t in the Hall of Fame but should be. (PEDs again.)
Ichiro was more deserving of unanimous than Jeter.
Ichiro didn’t make his MLB debut till he was 27. Won American League MVP and Rookie of the Year his first year. Got 262 hits in 2004, the major-league record. Got 3,089 career hits. Would have passed Pete Rose as MLB’s all-time hit king if he hadn’t played his first nine seasons in Japan. (Where he got 1,278 hits.)
Ichiro’s performance speaks for itself. He doesn’t need one extra vote.
I’m happy to see CC Sabathia get into Cooperstown. It’s always inspiring to see a fat guy make good.
Curt Schilling should be in the Hall of Fame. Now than Donald Trump is president again, perhaps he will unilaterally induct Schilling.