Ichiro Suzuki 1 VOTE SHY of UNANIMOUS HOF election 👀 WHO THE HELL WAS IT? - Stephen A. | First Take

[@KCShox]

A guy who enters the MLB at age 27 goes on to collect over 3,000 hits, 10 gold gloves and 500 stolen bases and isn’t unanimous? Just crazy. 27!

[@jamesNKYI3806]

@@KCShox if Ichiro came to the MLB when he was 20, he would have surpassed Pete Rose's 4256 hit record.

[@kingloo6407]

@@jamesNKYI3806and maybe also have sb record too

[@Revan42069]

⁠@@kingloo6407not the sb records

[@agherbie]

Don't forget 10 years in a row of 200+ hits. Only player ever to do that.

[@03Man11]

@@kingloo6407 I can say with certainty he wouldn’t have had the stolen base record. Rickey Henderson has 1406 stolen bases and Ichiro is somewhere around 500?

[@gradel888]

Whoever didn’t vote in for ichiro should be banned from voting permanently.

[@jaredgarrison333]

Willie mays, Hank Aaron, Griffey, Tony Gwynn, and jeter were not unanimous . Gwynn won 7 batting titles and was left off 13 ballots. Ichiro is great but I’m not calling for anyone to lose their vote over this.

[@Richie2394]

Hell yeah I agree man.

[@BigDaddy52525]

They do it on purpose so unanimous is a coveted thing

[@mazzith]

Facts.

[@BurnerOfKD]

They should be banned because they made their own decision? Why do they have to jump on the bandwagon of everyone else?

[@bbott137]

Ichiro had 200 hits and gold glove every single year, for 10 years in a row. Literal no brainer.

[@jessyfretz5800]

Exactly. The one voter has dementia.

[@HondoHoss77]

He embodies the spirit of baseball….

[@benluecken2839]

And 30 SB in 9 of those years (the one year he didn’t he had 26)

[@aceofdeath]

@bbott137 But has he won a World Series in the MLB. Only Mariano Rivera deserves 100% for winning World Series and being the Saves Leader.

[@Maze86753]

⁠​⁠​⁠@@aceofdeaththis is an insane take. A World Series title is not a 1-man operation, the furthest from it, that might be the most people besides either football that are involved in any title push. The notion that a title not being available despite performing at all-world levels for years at a time. No disrespect to Rivera, but they are in the same category of all-time talents and accomplishments, sans exactly the WS title.

[@joer7240]

Ichiro kept Mariners games fun to watch during a LOT of bad years. Will always be my favorite player.

[@Finx5008]

Yea, that 116 win season was pretty tough to watch :p

[@joer7240]

@ I said a lot of bad years, not that all the years were bad. This is coming from someone who attended almost 40 home games in 2008, I think I know what I’m taking about.

[@JayJoStanAccount]

The fact that Ichiro had 2nd level hitting power but understood the role he had as leadoff and hit for avg and getting on base is what stands out. He was putting up double digit HRs like every year in Japan. HoF career in 2 different leagues, Not being unanimous is an insult to baseball.

[@heinleinreader]

The thing is, he chose to be that style of hitter. He could have been a reliable 25-30 homer guy every year. He would have struck out more and had fewer hits. He chose to hit for average rather than power. He had the ability to power up. He chose not to. He chose to set the table and steal. Here's an interesting fact. Ichiro was 2 for his first 9 at bats. He got a hit on his 10th AB. That gave him a BA of .300. He got another on his 11th AB, and he never again saw his career average dip below .300. That is a unique stat. Yet some nimrod has to be the one juror that votes against the other 11 no matter what they decide. If all 11 changed their mind to guilty, he would change his to not guilty.

[@DogDongDotCom]

Sources say it is Mark Purdy from San Francisco which seems legit. He has been on record to go against the grain, has said Japanese players are not better than college players, oh and his partner left him for a Japanese chef.

[@firstnamelastname9215]

AYOOOOO!!! He’s getting that hibachi every night

[@Humanbodymentorshipacademy]

Makes sense 😂😂

[@thorkagemob1297]

​@@doc7569I wonder if it was his actual relationship partner which would make it even funnier lmao so petty

[@jnova707]

I figured whoever it was clearly is racist thanks for confirming.

[@AutoPil0t459]

Mark Prudy is White........ The usual suspects.

[@sootchh4055]

Ichiro said that he's glad he didn't get the unanimous vote, cuz that means he's still got the room to strive for perfection. He said he's going to continue contributing to the sport of baseball in any way he can until he can no longer move his limbs (as per his interview with Japanese media)

[@51Dutchman]

If this is true, then major kudos is owed to Ichiro and maybe we should all follow his example. It’s absolutely a joke someone didn’t vote for Ichiro, but if Ichiro himself sees the positive in not having a unanimous ballot and isn’t concerned, why are we?

[@alexcueto]

Inspirational

[@tigerman7678]

Can confirm he said this in the Japanese interview

[@Area-5l]

Ehhh. He should feel that way regardless. If he the real deal. A voter wouldn’t make him strive for more

[@JC-life-is-good]

Why would he even bother with one voter's feelings? Go and enjoy life with your family and do other things, and don't need to feel you have to continue to contribute to the sport. One no vote out of 394 should not inspire or diminish you.

[@AnthonyWilliams_83]

Ichiro, Jeter, and Griffey not getting 100% votes to be HOF is crazy work!!

[@blairholmgren9748]

Not to mention every other great except Rivera. Ruth, Gehrig, Williams, Mantle, Mays, Aaron, Koufax, Gibson, Johnson, Papi, Pedro, etc…

[@abouttime2569]

There is always that 1 or 2 people who wants to be edgy

[@JasonJones1162]

Don't forget they didn't give Nolan Ryan 100%. He was supposed to be the first one 25 years ago, and he didn't get it. The fact that Mariano Rivera is the only one is ludicrous. These guys acting like a closer is the greatest player of all time? GTFO

[@hypnoticimage9687]

Rickey Henderson play 3 decades and dominated. He was not 100%. Baseball HOF voters is a joke.

[@AnthonyWilliams_83]

@@hypnoticimage9687 YES!!! He's another!

[@VivaLasVegasX]

Ichiro was amazing. Dude had legit power but never used it since his job was to get on base for the power hitters. I was on the center field rail when he broke the all time hits record for a single season. Awesome to witness it live

[@stephenmcdonald8474]

Ichiro once said that he could hit 40 HR but his batting average would only be .200

[@VivaLasVegasX]

@stephenmcdonald8474 swinging for the fences!

[@vincedidiana5781]

Just a phenomenal player. Remember seeing him for the first time in April 2001 at what was known as Comiskey Park at the time. Just incredible all around.

[@ronald30000]

Elite arm, elite range, elite speed, elite hand-eye coordination. One of the best to ever do it, should've been unanimous.

[@JamesBrown-wy7xs]

Bat-to-ball skills that might have never been matched since or achieved during or before his time in the league. No one could turn a nasty curvball or sinker into a seeing-eye single through the infield or a looper over the infielders like Ichrio. Nobody. The man could pick a spot to drop the ball off of his bat with the precision of his ++accurate arm. It was almost unreal to witness. Truly in a league of his own at that aspect of the game, and so many others.

[@DaMuss-e2w]

a jealous journalist

[@robertsmith2088]

Best small ball player possibly ever.

[@neubauerjoseph]

Let’s not forget elite eye as he could tell like the best of them if it was to going to be a ball or strike. One of the few guys I saw get walked with the bases loaded in the 9th inning in a close game

[@PeterWhite-q1k]

@@JamesBrown-wy7xs Stated so well! May I add elite baseball IQ to your list?

[@IceMoonie]

Ichiro is one of the best baseball players to ever grace this planet.

[@aceofdeath]

@IceMoonie one of the best but the better hitter is Pete Ross.

[@Baconateyou]

@@aceofdeathahhh yes the GREAT Pete Ross.

[@thisnamewastaken413]

​@@aceofdeath if Ichiro had came into the league at age 20, rather than age 27, he almost certainly would have surpassed Rose's total

[@aceofdeath]

@thisnamewastaken413 no.doubt about that.

[@alann5003]

@@Baconateyoufor a second I was like who’s Pete Ross? 😂

[@guylasorsa6888]

Imagine if Ichiro played all his games in MLB ? he would have been the all-time hit leader

[@Zippadeedoodaa-nt8om]

Still wouldn't have passed Pete Rose.

[@kyshro]

@@Zippadeedoodaa-nt8om😂 He easily would have. Dude wasn’t even playing in the MLB in his prime…

[@keithhoward5928]

@@Zippadeedoodaa-nt8om So you really believe he couldn't get 1200 hits in 9 seasons? For record he had over 1350 hits in his first 6 MiLB seasons

[@lethalus3494]

​@@Zippadeedoodaa-nt8om Definitely would have fairly easily.

[@VivaLasVegasX]

​@@Zippadeedoodaa-nt8omeasily would have passed Rose

[@NYCfrankie]

I met Ichiro in NYC really nice guy very polite and just an amazing all around player

[@heinleinreader]

I met him in Seattle. I had season tickets for the Mariners one year. My nephew and I have birthdays one day apart. So I took him on his birthday. My seats were in Area 51, the heart of Ichiro territory. Because it was a birthday thing, and I am a coach, and so is his father, we had a few connections. We got a birthday package for both of us. They asked if we wanted to meet anyone. I suggested Ichiro to my nephew. He agreed. Ichiro was happy to do it. My nephew was 13 at the time and came with his glove. It was a Griffey Junior signature glove. Ichiro looked at the signature and said, through his translator, now you have two signatures. Then he signaled for a ball and signed that. Then our programs, both of us. He asked about me too. I told him the seats were mine, and my birthday had been the day before, but the team was off on Thursday. He asked if we wanted to meet the team. My nephew nodded. So he took us down to the tunnel and out to the dugout. Then he started naming the people on the team. It turned out that he was trying to learn the names of his teammates in English. He took advantage of the situation to practice. I remember the introduction to the first guy included, "His birth-day to-day, him yes-te-day." His English is actually very good. He just prefers to be precise, so he uses his translator more than he needs to. Anyway, he took us down the line and introduced us. We got a whole lot of autographs that day. One of the guys said, "That's $50". When my nephew got wide-eyed, he said to us, "Only kidding." There have been so many practical jokers on the team over the years, but they have generally had a high fun factor. My nephew got a treat. They talked to the regular batboy. They got him to agree to let my nephew serve the role for the 1st inning. We had a great time that day. For the record, we were there before they opened up to the general admission because of the connections of my brother more than me. I was an assistant coach where I live, while he is head coach where he is. He has also got one state championship under his belt. He has reached 300 wins as a coach. So they knew who he was. I barely register with them. But we had a blast. When we got to our seats in the 3rd inning, I asked if he was having a great time. He said it was the best birthday ever. Turned out they had one more surprise for us. Someone came and got us and told us not to leave after dropping us in a holding area. Team management was there after about 10 minutes waiting. Apparently, my brother had called them and told them to expect us. There was a birthday cake for two. They gave us towels and wrist bands and stuff, plus a team bag for each of us to carry out our swag in. My nephew was told he got to keep the uniform he got to wear for a whole inning. A very special shared birthday party, and meeting Ichiro was only part of it. But you are correct, he is a very nice man.

[@raymondlee4838]

That's why HoFers should not be voted by sportswriters imo. There should be a baseball committee that select them every year. The committee should consists of past baseball HoFers and baseball veterans that were well respected in the league.

[@charlesettore]

Then it would be friends voting for friends lol. Imo it should be a mix of writers and vets (players and managers)

[@satchmofan1]

Players are terrible judges of talent. Just look at GM Lebron lol

[@bw536]

The fact ken griffey Jr didn't get 100% is unbelievable

[@JamesBrown-wy7xs]

Yep. Mays and Mantle, too. Babe Ruth. Ty Cobb. Ted Williams. Hell, Pedro Martinez. How TF can one justify not voting for any of those guys, and at least 50 other similiar examples? It truly boggles my mind!

[@Nate_____012]

⁠@@JamesBrown-wy7xs I guarantee that they vote no just to be different, there’s no explanation otherwise.

[@simoncobian2816]

Heck guys like Gwynn and Henderson aren’t even in the top 10 for some reason

[@steve6513]

Griffey especially deserved to be the first unanimous just because he was the one big name home run hitter from the 90s that's never been linked to steroids. He was considered the best player of his era in an era where everyone else was cheating like crazy.

[@shayjames5099]

Yeah that's strange to

[@alexsolo4085]

Ichiro was the man. Consistently led the league in hits, and had a rocket arm in the outfield

[@robertsmith2088]

And his fundamentals were amazing to watch. He could collect hits off of infield shots, bunts, ran the bases to obstruct the views of outfielders. Great fielding technique, and practically knew every trick that could be thought of from a pesky ball player. Oh and he also happened to get 200+ hits a season in his first 10 years in MLB, which tied him with Pete Rose for most 200+ hit seasons. While also holding the single season hit record, to make hitstory. And he's pretty much universally accepted as a God in baseball. So people who don't vote him in, are just purely rotten haters.

[@alexsolo4085]

@ the hall of fame voters have been a joke for years. If you want to exclude all the roid users during that era(which I think is stupid to begin with) then exclude them all. But instead they cherry picked who they wanted in. How is Roger Clemens, the best pitcher from that era, and Barry Bonds, one of the greatest players from any era not in? But you have guys like David Ortiz who couldnt sniff Barry Bonds jockstrap in the hall. Bonds was a 5 tool player, and Ortiz was a liability when put on the field. Put asterisks next to their names and move on. The hall has become a total clown show for awhile. Writers shouldn’t get a vote at all.

[@garishqualm344]

262 hits in one season

[@bigdog6704]

Crazy stat. The only other player in the top 10 of that list in the modern era is.... Ichiro at 10. Players ranked 2-9 played in deadball era seasons no later than 1930.

[@henny6566]

262 hits in a season is pretty dope.

[@ramonhernandez1623]

That will never be broken

[@garishqualm344]

@@ramonhernandez1623 Aaraz?

[@Feanor026]

While hitting at least 200 hits per season for 10 years in a row, the same 10 years where he won 10 gold gloves and 10 all star selection. From 27 y/o to 36 y/o :o

[@royhobbs5167]

Ichiro was the greatest hitter in baseball history.

[@winnigriff8989]

That was rod carew

[@georgen5882]

I like both of those players, but neither were the greatest hitters. There are too many that came before to give them the nod.

[@MrMalicious5]

That would be Barry Bonds.

[@photomamika2800]

thanks from Japan.⚾️ By the way, in the past, Ichiro has declined the Japanese National Honor Award three times in Japan. At that time, The reason for he says, "I don't deserve it, cuz I'm still developing". So the Japanese already know that he is not interested in any prizes. he is super humble.

[@88CDawg]

With HOFers like Ken Griffey Jr., Randy Johnson, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, etc. and Mariano Rivera is still the only member with a unanimous vote is absolutely ridiculous. Ichiro and many, many others deserved a unanimous vote. As great as Rivera was, you cannot sit there and tell me that he was the best HOFer out of all the HOFers elected.

[@JamesBrown-wy7xs]

Exactly my thoughts on this.

[@jerry-br3th]

Ohtani is better then all of them and the Goat 🐐 one of the best pitchers hitters and baserunners, he'll be elected unanimous HOF, already is a 3 time unanimous MVP,

[@tenn_ore]

Indulge me one second. I think it's because he didn't create a position, but took a position and made it into a standard that no one else could possibly do for so long. It would be like going against MJ or Gretzky.

[@shaggyfrankdizzl]

Cal Ripken Jr. wasn't unanimous?!? Griffey Jr.?!? I've lost all faith in humanity.

[@isaiahnolan1565]

@@jerry-br3th That's not the point Mr. Glazer. There should be multiple unanimous HOFers and the first one was a closer?

[@jakekrueger7854]

He should've been unanimous. He was the greatest all around player I've ever seen. There was absolutely nothing he couldn't have done

[@gavindjurovic845]

Oh come on, all around? He’s missing one of the main 3 tools. Legend for sure should’ve been unanimous but best all around is a stretch.

[@JamirBae]

@@gavindjurovic845 you sound like the one who didn't vote

[@PhilliesNostalgia]

@@gavindjurovic845 He got over 3k hits from age 27 and on. That’s pretty impressive honestly

[@gavindjurovic845]

@@JamirBae I agree that he should’ve been unanimous I just said best all around all time is crazy. He had 117 HR in 19 years that isn’t 5 tool player.

[@gavindjurovic845]

@@PhilliesNostalgia for sure I agree totally

[@MotU91775]

The funny thing is you can find out what voter didn't give a first place vote for an individual MLB award but you can't know the one voter for the Hall of Fame. Makes zero sense.

[@dgilroy26]

Part of the corrupt relationship between the news organizations and sports league. If they don't think that someone needs to be in the HOF stand by your vote. Then defend why. Most likely a personal grudge or discrimination.

[@SamuelJ888]

HOF and baseball awards are run by different companies

[@Someone-hi1nt]

does make sense tbh, not the same voting process/group

[@r4v4g3r]

In some way, I think MLB either likes or doesn’t mind this low-level politicking affecting the Hall of Fame. Quite sad.

[@kpz1234]

I lived in Seattle during the Ichiro years and I've seen total simpering (like the book titled "Ichiro - American Hero") across Seattle. All that aside - the guy was an incredible player and is up there with the greatest. Amazing hand/eye control, top notch defense, speed... definitely deserving.

[@Robvdk69]

Should be public. Holds people accountable.

[@maurice-r1s]

Babe Ruth, Willie Mays never got the unanimous vote and now ichiro, the voter who failed to vote for Ichiro is a total clown.

[@bilogskii2216]

Either a racist or holds guys like the names you question to a level above everyone else and can't accept that other players can achieve something that those guys didn't.

[@todd4317]

​@@bilogskii2216Spot on with both observations.

[@dukejohnson1956]

@@bilogskii2216well it’s a bit of a pickle imo. cause willie mays is obviously better than ichiro so I could see an older guy feeling stuck up about that

[@Maze86753]

@@dukejohnson1956that’s tough, times changed. You’re not going to get me to be like “well I mean SOMEONES gotta hold out.” Nah screw that noise, be vocal that Willie Mays and Babe Ruth should have been unanimous, and we’re glad someone like Ichiro hit their rightful threshold. You correct things now so the future can be made better. This sort of ideal is so stuck in the past I’m pretty sure it filed for social security.

[@nwfashionmedia]

@@dukejohnson1956 but it's not a "was Ichiro the best ever" ballot... it's an "is Ichiro worthy of the Hall" ballot.

[@christophec6201]

The person who did not vote for Ichiro, but probably not vote for Ohtani in 10+ years.

[@Willow56cmk]

So racism possibly.

[@pablogrijalva1581]

Exactly what I was thiniking

[@mango2538]

Interesting take. We’ll have to see!

[@Baseballlv3rr-c8w]

If he’s still allowed to vote for 10+ years that’s a crime

[@Maze86753]

⁠@@Willow56cmkthe rumor is that the holdout was a guy that had his wife divorce him to be with a Japanese chef, and he’s held a vendetta against Japanese players, saying they were worse than college players state-side ever since. Mark Purdy is his name. Have fun with that.

[@Bork19]

More absurd than the Griffey vote, whoever didn’t vote for them needs to lose his vote.

[@anthonyclark9441]

For real

[@binder38us]

Same for Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver

[@cassun603]

watching Ichiro play makes you understand why people enjoy baseball. I can't fathom not voting for him

[@Grandizer8989]

I’m from Boston but lived in Seattle during Ichiro’s rookie year. Saw him get an infield hit against Pedro and knew right away that he was special

[@Gav_Noctem]

I don’t know anything about baseball but even I know this dudes name, that says alot about his legacy

[@ilphi08]

The ones that didn't vote for Ichiro and Jeter should not get to vote in HOF ballot ever again

[@johnmartin5520]

First person I knew of in baseball and I’m black he was a legend

[@theScotian24]

Well, AND youre black! That's wild! 🙄

[@Zippadeedoodaa-nt8om]

Ichiro was the best hitter since Tony Gwyn. Nobody has came close since he retired.

[@chuckturdburger4612]

dude, he was 27 when he entered to league. Tony Gwynn isn't even close to his level of greatness.

[@christopherconcept926]

Don’t forget the 10 consecutive gold gloves

[@NammyTardust]

He absolutely change how to cheat (fairly) to first base while at bat (and still only one). When he hit, he already has a big jump towards first, putting pressure on teams to hurry the ball to first. And with the big jump, he usually beat them to it. With the added pressure, this leads to errors, etc.

[@georgen5882]

From a pure hitting perspective Gwynn is a better hitter. He was also not a great athlete. Ichiro all around was a better baseball player, but not a better hitter.

[@SvenChoba]

@@georgen5882 Ichiro was by definition a better hitter, because hitting entails running the bases.

[@venezuelabeisbol-ko1ro]

This is my favorite baseball player of all time. Made me fall in love with the game. Congrats to Ichiro.

[@SpeakerOfWords]

Instead of complaining about 1 vote, how about congratulating Ichiro on making it into the HOF! You can thank way more people than 1 persons irrelevant opinion.

[@Im_a_49er]

HATER!!!! Most people don’t know that he came to MLB late! After having a HOF career in Japan (9 years). He came to have a HOF career in America. Imagine if Ichiro played all his years in MLB??? Ichiro could possibly have been the best baseball player to ever live exception is his power. The Japanese play baseball so beautifully.

[@JJ_5289]

Maybe my favorite player ever, but even if he played his whole career in the mlb he would not be the greatest player ever. He would be up there, but the lack of power hitting and rbi's would still be held against him

[@Im_a_49er]

@ idk bro that’s 9 extra years. At his prime! He’s my favorite player too.

[@AlaborJinta]

thumbs down as most people do know that.

[@panch0bill]

He had power, it’s just not how he played

[@johnszczerba9979]

Everyone who watched baseball then knows.

[@broncoramfan]

That voter should be known to the world so everyone can express their feelings to them.

[@MrHunterbg]

Yeah, we want to call him/her a racist!

[@theScotian24]

Apparently it's some SF cuck called Mark Purdy.

[@Evroyal]

Willie Mays wasn’t even unanimous. That says it all right there

[@ftw4twcs]

Back then there were still good ol boys still around who didn't vote for Willie for obvious reasons. Guess there is one left.

[@Aih1616]

Time different boi

[@bigdog6704]

@@ftw4twcs yeah had to have been

[@romeothompson9389]

@@ftw4twcs come on man race has nothing to do with that Mickey Mantle wasn’t unanimous. Let me guess you’re gonna say cause he was Irish ? And in his prime, Mickey Mantle was about as close as you could get to Willie Mays as possible. There’s no doubt Mickey Mantle should’ve been unanimous same with a guy like Nolan Ryan or Ken Griffey none of those people were unanimous. It has nothing to do with race it has more to do with baseball writers having this unwritten rule of making sure no player gets in the Hall of Fame unanimously now how Mariano Rivera got through I have no idea, but that’s also a great point if it was a race issue like you’re saying I highly doubt they would’ve made Mariano Rivera the first person to do that that doesn’t seem like a good ol boy thing to do

[@alexadeshigbin8129]

@@romeothompson9389Right because baseball, one of the most historically racist sports of all time, would never use race to diminish someone’s accomplishments. Please actually read a history book

[@uwyorugby]

"Thirteen votes! Thirteen votes! I could see three, four votes, but thirteen votes!" Reminded me of that Canadian guy on a local news show talking about, "Four beer?! What's that gonna do?!"

[@Nick_4545]

I was never into baseball that much but I even know how much of a impact this man had on the game of baseball give him what he deserves

[@GOPACKGOPNWLifer]

Only Stephen A could be a fan of Rob Manfred lol

[@alisyed7659]

Yankees Sign Stealing Letter not opened by the Judge because of Rob Manfred.

[@Cal3nbo]

Still can’t believe Mariano it’s 100% and Nolan Ryan it’s not 😂😂😂

[@WMB6022]

Right. Mariano is a living legend and a Yankees icon, but he’s the oddest unanimous vote of all time of any sport in comparison to other certain peers.

[@SaucyLob]

@@WMB6022 The fact that jeter was more impactful on the team that wasn't get unanimous is crazy to me.

[@92retsekoj]

Man Ichiro is an all time HOF. Amongst the best ever.

[@atg1338]

Calm down

[@cassun603]

​@atg1338 have you ever watched him play?

[@MikeTheD]

He was so amazing. His career stats are the coolest ever, just looking at them

[@michaeljacksin9367]

There was this really fast kid on my summer baseball team and I told him to start swinging like ichiro and he’d get on base like every time

[@vincentgreene6645]

A joke. He should be in hands down!!! No doping no scandals. He balled out each year.

[@studyboy5829]

He is in.

[@kingjoffreyownsyou6032]

Imagine if Ichiro entered the mlb in his early 20s

[@clintfowler1526]

He’d break Pete roses record

[@Zippadeedoodaa-nt8om]

No he wouldn't. Average star in a farm system debuts at 23 or 24. Ichiro was 1200 hits shy of Rose, he couldn't get 1200 hits in 4 years. Stop it.

[@JRDuran1994]

@@Zippadeedoodaa-nt8om you should check out his stats from Japan when he was 20-26 years old out of this world. He was a stud already

[@profecia_i_tu8320]

@@Zippadeedoodaa-nt8omyes he would of 😂😂 ichiro had 1278 hits in Japan before coming to mlb at age 27 so he in total ended up with 4367 hits combined between mlb and Japan, MORE than Pete rose, so if he would of came to the mlb 4-5 years before?? YES he would of been the all time hits leader.

[@my2l]

@@Zippadeedoodaa-nt8omaverage star in a farm does not debut at 24 you delusional clown 😂

[@davidmakai8508]

I’m glad this was addressed.

[@KL-fe3tj]

Bro threw so much shade to Shohei LOL. Now he knows how to ride the waves😂

[@sethexodus]

2:03 facts 💯

[@drewcorry5056]

Absolutely Outstanding From Start To Finish // Absolutely Loved Every/Minute

[@Publiclighthouse]

I was with Stephen A until he started praising Manfred, the cowardly lion.

[@Bax263]

Bro makes his one good take of the year and follows it up with dogshit, classic.

[@zrpggamer]

Stephen A should still apoligize for what he said about Ohtani.

[@franzmustermann760]

what did he say?

[@zhc2200]

Dude. Get over it. He apologized. I'm Asian, btw.

[@frostyhkd]

@@franzmustermann760said he can’t be the face of baseball cause he needs an interpreter.

[@firstnamelastname9215]

⁠@@frostyhkdayoooo that’s actually f’d up usually I don’t care but who says that. He makes baseball fun again

[@roberturibe3150]

Steven needs a interpreter for his pompous dialect

[@jakehm3678]

I could hear Doggy talk about baseball for hours, pure nyc energy the whole time

[@maximusprimus827]

Ichiro is one of the greatest players ever. He was a wizard with the bat.

[@p344y]

We need to start outing these people who have a vendetta against player like jeter and Ichiro

[@SpotlightCardz]

Gett'em Stephen A

[@IceMoonie]

I remember watching Ichiro take BP at Yankee Stadium. All he did was hit monster shots into the upper deck and into the bleachers in right field. Then he sprayed 3 or 4 to deep left. Then he went inside. He could've hit 600 home runs and sacrificed some average and hit totals if he wanted to, but that's not what helped his team win the most.

[@randyrudynski7026]

Pretty sure Ichiro could careless about that one vote. He had a great baseball career and he's in the Hall of Fame

[@TheRealMagnusCarlsen]

I love how when first talk talks about baseball they just read of the teleprompter

[@Evan8787]

The fact Jeter got a higher percentange than Ichiro is a joke. That fact Mariano Rivera, a guy who only played ONE INNING most games, is the only unanimous selection is a joke. Mariano Rivera isn't a unanimous selection if he didn't luck out and play on juggernaut Yankees teams most of his career.

[@Fitz2364]

As a Yankee fan I agree and disagree. Ichiro and Jeter should be unanimous. So should Griffey, Ripken, Seaver, Johnson, Ruth, Aaron, Mays, Williams, etc. Mariano, is a one inning wonder.

[@atg1338]

Thanks captain

[@buddyboye4203]

Jeter got the same percentage as Ichiro. What are you talking about?

[@onthebrink1111]

Your logic is a joke. Just because Ichiro didn't get a unanimous vote means that you crap on other great players. You are just a salty angry cry baby having a tantrum.

[@benjamintaylor5025]

This is why I think that they need to revamp the the voting

[@fuhkerz]

Yeah it's insane to me that some publications have that many votes. Do they really even have 13 guys that exclusively cover baseball, or are they giving votes to the copy editor and intern as well?

[@RomnysGonzalez]

The ballots should be make public so we know which clowns we shouldn't listen to Ichiro,KGJ and Jeter should've been unanimous

[@RonEugene]

One of best all around players i ever seen for sure

[@TrinhNguyen-nc7hj]

Ichiro is a true gentleman on the field and off! He’s up there with Jeter and all the greats of baseball.

[@robertcortez9921]

Stephen A talking baseball? Now that's hilarious.

[@pinbarbecue1100]

Because Madd Dogg is there 😂😂

[@Mike-s9d]

LMFAO more than him talking about politics 😂

[@marcsimon3275]

Stephen A was right about everything he said... Outside of the fact, I think he might have been a little generous with his Manfred comments... I don't love how Manfred handled the A's situation... I don't think he was looking out for Oakland A's fans there...

[@bigdog6704]

@@Mike-s9d he's pretty reasonable when he talks politics to be fair

[@dark_knight_3304]

@@pinbarbecue1100baseball fans hate mad dog dude is trash for sports always yelling for no reason

[@Jag0106]

I don’t even watch baseball like that but I knew ichiro and it’s disgusting literally one person didn’t vote him as a first ballot. When people who don’t watch baseball knew who ichiro was it means he’s one of the greatest of all time or one of the worse and he definitely was one of the greatest of all time

[@onthebrink1111]

Why is it disgusting? People that do not possess the requisite vocabulary or moral foundation to articulate anything more than "disgusting" should not be sharing their opinion. Having ANY strong feeling especially indignation over a sport that you don't even watch shows attention seeking behavior. Using the outrage of a subject to farm social media capital. It is "disgusting" behavior.

[@Jag0106]

@ 🤣😂😂somebody must’ve disappointed they daddy in sports and never let it go the way you responded😭😭🤣do I look like I give 2 f*cks about social media likes and digital hugs and high fives gtfo😂😂😭😭 all cause I said I don’t watch baseball like that anymore but I did used to play baseball until middle school. I’m in my mid 20s and don’t watch anymore and haven’t watched seriously since I was 12 when ichiro still played and when my team the reds were relevant. So before you go trying to make yourself look smart because of clear confidence issues and not getting enough attention yourself you forgot to make sure you didn’t look like an attention seeking a**hole in your response😂😂responding to a comment you could’ve ignored is also what you call attention seeking🤣🤣

[@Jag0106]

@ being told I have attention seeking behavior from someone seeking attention themselves is hilarious in hindsight😂 😂🤣🤣

[@billysummers1616]

Manfred is the worst commissioner ever. Idk what SAS is thinking

[@atg1338]

The current NBA commissioner is worse💯

[@cheetofingersbum]

Rob Manfred is just a puppet that's controlled by the owners. He's been doing a fine job

[@billysummers1616]

@cheetofingersbum Fine job letting a team blatantly cheat for a title and not taking it away or even suspending them? Or how about calling the trophy just a piece of metal? Or how about letting one team aquire all the talent by deferring/taking advantage of contracts and making the league essentially a 5 team league? How about his Mckey Mouse idea of letting tour star player DH once per game at pivotal moments? Viewership has been declining every year, that doesn't say he doing a fine job......

[@cheetofingersbum]

@billysummers1616 He's literally voted in by the owners and them, along with the players' union, vote on all the things that happen around the league. The pitch clock, bigger bases, and all other rule changes have been great for the game. The reason viewership is declining is because the younger generation is too busy getting TikTok brain rot to have the mental capacity to watch a baseball game.

[@Itsalwayscloudyincleveland]

You just know, you KNOW the voter is a Yankees fan who wants to preserve Mariano's unanimous vote

[@中臣鎌足-x7u]

Ichiro is the last samurai, philosopher, and magician. Contrary to baseball theory, Ichiro was able to generate many hits by hitting the ball slowly.

[@TO_HELL_AND_BACK]

The media is ridiculous. Now it's not good enough to be in the HOF. It better be unanimous or I won't accept it. U have a bunch of goofballs giving their opinions, so what do u expect . Are people still crying about Shaq one vote from unanimous? And if they are, get a life.

[@othervoices76]

Why no Mattingly or Hernandez if some of the other most recent inductions

[@Heavymetalpunk]

Enough New York players are in already

[@salvatoresultana4058]

The writer who apparently voted against Ichiro was Mark Gooden. He voted for one player: Chase Utley. Imagine having 10 votes and only using one. Edit: dude’s fake. My b.

[@user-sb1vz9pv5y]

I can see if it was between Ichiro and Greg Maddux or Derek Jeter but there was Noone on the ballot you could put ahead of Ichiro and that includes Sabathia.

[@shazedkhan2252]

Mark gooden doesn’t have a vote , he was trolling people with a fake ballot.

[@kimblandino]

​@@user-sb1vz9pv5y I will agree with that and I am very Pro-Pitcher bias.

[@bobbymeade2099]

That was a fake ballot. He is not a HOF voter.

[@abcdefghijkl5408]

As i mentioned above, that is a fake/joke account

[@marcusaurelius5149]

Ichiro was the most consistent MLB player in multiple categories at the highest level. Ten years of consistent greatness.

[@heinleinreader]

I am still stuck on the three idiots who didn't vote for Griffey Junior. These "writers" need to have consequences for their intransigent contrarianism. They should be required to cast their ballots openly. Then, they should be required to defend their votes if they vote against a player, especially if they had 10 slots but only voted 8 people or something like that. If it turns out that it was someone who didn't vote for Ichiro so they could vote for Greg Kittle, that would also piss me off. You chose to be a contrarian to vote for a guy that has less than zero chances at induction.

[@DM-qd7gw]

Griffey wasn't unanimous either...1 vote

[@cwc8979]

Can you believe Ruth wasn’t either

[@dukedub]

Passan said Jr missed 3 votes.

[@DM-qd7gw]

@@dukedub really? thats even more nuts!

[@NoellaScott]

The Hall of Fame is a total charade in every aspect and has been since the start. It's a crock. It's best to pay little attention to ridiculousness like this.

[@vestibulate]

@NoellaScott "The Hall of Fame is a total charade in every aspect and has been since the start. It's a crock. " I was on to them when they let in that bloated slob Babe Ruth. Have been ever since.

[@emendee]

Definitely Mark Gooden. He did it for the attention, clearly. Knew he'd trend from it. His socials are infantile.

[@JasondenHollander-qj5hp]

‘baseball is the only sport to pull this shit…” NHL “hold my beer”

[@Wongwongwong10000]

The voter who didn’t vote for Ichiro probably doesn’t like Japanese people or asians in general. There’s no explanation for it. No MLB player in history of the game started at 27 and did what Ichiro did. 10 consecutive 200 hit seasons, 3089 hits, 509 stolen bases, and single season hit record of 262 that stood for 84 years. It was said it was one record that was unreachable due to today’s hitters not being contact hitters who only hit singles. Ichiro was special and did it all he could hit and play defence. 10 consecutive gold gloves. I think MLB baseball should investigate and see who was this idiot voter.

[@scottshupe5774]

It was Fred Hickman !!

[@IncognitoDre]

fred hickman died in 2022

[@Chimeratech8]

Definitely agree with SAS's assessment of Manfred. His hands-off treatment of the Astros scandal and later allowing the A's botched relocation shows he really doesn't care about how fans feel.

[@stevenaltaccount9476]

I appreciate Chris on billy wagner: “i can squabble about billy wagner but todays not the day to do it” What used to be common courtesy is now a classy move in a day where anyone will throw a punch to have 5 minutes of hot take press. Nice when journalists decide not ruin every waking moment of someones happiness with an opinion nobody asked for

[@historybuff1483]

This comes up every time. There was one person who didn’t vote Griffey unanimously. It was probably the same person.

[@jgrigg404495]

I had no idea how Stephen A was going to tie race into this but he did and stuck the landing. That was a master class of race hustling and he proved why he’s in the GOAT conversation.

[@ballplayer7744]

That one hating ass voter trying to help ohtani’s legacy smh

[@yolandapaulino5952]

Or they’re probably doing to also vote against Ohtani too

[@SuperJay12jay]

This 1 idiot will not vote for Ohtani too.

[@carlosacosta1290]

Voter probably did that because Ichiro doesn’t have a World Series ring.He still should’ve been unanimous though.

[@kingloo6407]

It takes whole game for championship season. Just ask Mike Trout.

[@Phat-rj3jo]

Nah, WS can’t be the reason, if it’s a major factor, more voters would have felt the same way. Perhaps Ichiro maybe somehow slighted the writer in his 19 years in the MLB even if accidentally. Some people hold grudges for a long long time.

[@jamesNKYI3806]

Racism

[@gbmbg114]

What was it for Jeter? Or Hank Aaron? Or Greg Maddux, Nolan Ryan, Ken Griffey Jr., Cal Ripken Jr., Tony Gwynn? Like is it ridiculous? It IS ridiculous (for all those guys).. but seems like Ichiro is getting treated the same.. he was awesome though.. should just be celebrating his career intend of finding a reason why it’s never enough lol..

[@chm2]

I loved it when ichiro joined the MLB. It was like he found the cheat code to baseball

[@CottonEyedBro]

Rumor has it that the 1 voter was Nick Canepa of the San Diego Union Tribune.

[@adamansion]

yet the trashtros still have a trophy 🏆 if mandred was for the fans

[@ridingwithmike7455]

He's in, who cares really... I'm sure these guys are more worried about it than Ichiro is

[@Hayesvalley]

Would still be nice to be unanimously. Of course commentators are more hyped about it.

[@user-sb1vz9pv5y]

The problem is that this type of voters could screw other deserving players out of the hall. You can't tell me there is only 1 worthy guy of the hall.

[@Hayesvalley]

@@user-sb1vz9pv5y you didn’t listen to the interview? There’s 300+ voters. There’s only 1 or a few of these pay that may do shhh like this. There’s not enough crooked voters to affect a place in the hall of someone deserving.

[@airtioteclint]

​@@Hayesvalleythis time it didn't. Next time it could. If you let one get away it could affect the whole batch.

[@Hayesvalley]

@ 1 didn’t vote for jeter long time ago when he should have went unanimously m. Where’s that whole batch this time?

[@snowmochi1373]

Really didn’t expect Stephen A to use race card like that in a segment about Ichiro lol

[@FlosAng3les]

This is EXACTLY why I don’t value any award decided by a vote amongst people who don’t even play.

[@kevins90sc]

When Stephen A. goes on a "RANT' there is nobody Better.

[@yurfavoriteahmed]

I was listening to my local radio station and they said that results of who voted goes out 2 weeks later. So I think we might find out in a couple of weeks with that lone person is...?

[@liam_smith_65536]

I'm proud of Ichiro Suzuki, the hero of my hometown, Aichi, Japan

[@LAdams-sb1hf]

Molly looking deadly saying 'yeah' as SAS talks lmao

[@HoloProEnjoyer]

That clown Manfred should make a new rule that people will actually like, if a player is one vote shy of being unanimous HOFer than every voter has to release their ballet or be banned from baseball. That'll get those cowards out from hiding.

[@koningklootzak7788]

A reporter asked Ichiro what he thinks about the guy who didn't vote for him. Ichiro answered he wants to go for drinks with him.