Ichiro is a wellspring of national pride — like Shohei Ohtani now — and his fame across the Pacific was therapeutic as Japan's economy sputtered through the so-called lost decades.

If Ichiro Suzuki misses unanimous election to the Baseball Hall of Fame, it would be by a handful of votes at most. For Carlos Beltran, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner, a handful of votes may determine whether any or all of them join Suzuki as a member of the Hall of Fame Class of 2025.

Expected to be the first Japanese player elected to the Cooperstown on Tuesday, Ichiro is a wellspring of national pride and his fame across the Pacific when he joined MLB was therapeutic for his

The results of voting for the 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame class will be revealed Tuesday evening. We already know that Dave Parker and Dick Allen were inducted via the Era Committee last month, so this reveal is the BBWAA portion.

Suzuki will likely become the first Hall of Famer born in Japan and may become the first position player to earn unanimous election.

Tuesday is one of the holy days on the baseball calendar, the announcement of players voted into the Hall of Fame. The honor is extreme and well-earned, with just over 1% of all big leaguers making it to Cooperstown for what they did as players: 275 out of 23,370.

To this point, only famed Yankee closer Mariano Rivera has been elected to the Hall of Fame unanimously — not Babe Ruth, not Hank Aaron, not Ken Griffey Jr. nor Derek Jeter, just Rivera. Could Suzuki be the second?