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The National Baseball Hall of Fame on Monday unveiled its 2025 ballot featuring 14 newly eligible candidates, including former Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, widely considered a shoo-in for the honor in his first vote.
File photo shows Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki at Tokyo Dome on March 21, 2019, the day he announced his retirement. (Kyodo)
The 51-year-old will need to be named on at least 75 percent of the ballots cast by selected baseball journalists to win induction into the Hall of Fame. Given his groundbreaking career and success in the majors over 18-plus seasons, there has been speculation Suzuki could be the second-ever unanimous pick, after former New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera.
Suzuki, the first position player from Japan to sign with a major league club, won both the Rookie of the Year and American League MVP awards in his debut season with the Mariners in 2001. A 10-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove winner, he racked up 3,089 hits and 509 stolen bases, playing mostly for the Mariners but also for the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins before retiring in March 2019.
Hall of Fame candidates must have played in MLB for at least 10 years, and become eligible for consideration five years after retirement. Those who fail to reach the 75 percent threshold can appear on successive ballots for up to 10 years, as long as they receive at least 5 percent of the vote.
Among the 28 listed on the 2025 ballot, the 14 new candidates also include former MVP infielder Dustin Pedroia and Cy Young winner Felix Hernandez, while the other 14 remain eligible from previous years.
The voting will take place by the end of the year, with the results slated for announcement on Jan. 21.
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