On Thursday, the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame unveiled its 2025 induction class. The class includes headliner Ichiro Suzuki — who holds the world record for hits with 4,367 between Nippon Professional Baseball and Major League Baseball — Hitoki Iwase — the all-time NPB leader in saves with 407 — and Masayuki Kakefu — a three-time home run champion — as its newest members.
#OTD 39 years ago:
Randy Bass, Masayuki Kakefu and Akinobu Okada went back-to-back-to-back off Hiromi Makihara in what became known as the "Three Backscreens" pic.twitter.com/K5kcDO67Yr
— Gaijin Baseball/外国人野球 (@GaijinBaseball) April 17, 2024
Iwase and Kakefu Honored
Iwase spent 19 seasons as a dominant reliever for the Chunichi Dragons, setting an NPB record with 407 saves across 1,002 appearances. With a stellar 2.31 ERA and 841 strikeouts, he established himself as one of Japan’s all-time great closers. His achievements helped him easily clear the 75% threshold for induction, appearing on 88.3% of ballots.
Kakefu, affectionately known as “Mr. Tigers,” was a fan favorite for the Hanshin Tigers throughout the 1970s and 80s. Over 1,625 career games, he posted an impressive .292/.381/.532 slash line with 349 homers. He was inducted by the Expert’s Committee, receiving 76.6% of the vote.
One of the best to ever do it 🇯🇵⚾
Congratulations to Ichiro on being selected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in Tokyo!
史上最高と言える選手の一人🇯🇵⚾
イチロー選手、日本野球殿堂入りおめでとうございます pic.twitter.com/5xInl5CDqQ— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) January 16, 2025
Ichiro: First Ballot But Not Unanimous
Controversially, Ichiro was not a unanimous selection, garnering 92.6% of the vote and falling 26 votes shy of perfection. Some electors presumably left him off to save room on their ballots, which only allow up to seven selections, as his induction was effectively guaranteed. Notably, no player in NPB history has ever received a unanimous vote, and Ichiro becomes just the seventh to earn induction on the first ballot.
Ichiro’s NPB resume alone garners legendary status. Across 951 games with the Orix Blue Wave from 1992 to 2000, Ichiro tallied 1,278 hits, 118 home runs, 199 stolen bases, and posted a .353/.421/.522 slash line. He was a seven-time All-Star, seven-time Pacific League batting champion, seven-time Gold Glove winner, and three-time MVP.
Ichiro moved stateside in 2001, signing with the Seattle Mariners. In his debut season, he took home both the American League Rookie of the Year and MVP awards. Three years later, he broke MLB’s single-season hits record with 262.
The other one is Lefty O'Doul, who's in the JBBHoF as a builder
He had 254 hits with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1929, tied with Bill Terry for 3rd overall https://t.co/Sh8YfSshYc pic.twitter.com/n59buvTTj3
— Gaijin Baseball/外国人野球 (@GaijinBaseball) January 12, 2025
The Lefty O’Doul Connection
However, it may surprise some people to learn that Ichiro is not the first player with over 250 hits in a single MLB season to be inducted into the Japanese Hall of Fame. That honor actually belongs to Lefty O’Doul, who amassed 254 hits in 1929 while playing for the Philadelphia Phillies.
After his MLB career, O’Doul organized and managed various Pacific Coast League teams on exhibition tours to Japan before and after World War II. These tours with teams like the San Francisco Seals played a major role in elevating the standard of play in Japan and ultimately helped pave the way for the formation of NPB.
O’Doul is also credited for giving the Dai-Nippon Tokyo Baseball Club their nickname of the “Giants.” For these contributions and more, the San Francisco native was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002, followed by his induction into the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame the very next year.
Ichiro is currently on pace to get 100% of the votes for Cooperstown, does he end up going in unanimous? pic.twitter.com/oBHWCu0eXb
— Barstool Baseball (@StoolBaseball) January 14, 2025
Next Stop, Cooperstown
Ichiro’s career also included stints with the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins before retiring with the Mariners after opening the season against the Athletics in Tokyo in 2019. Over 2,653 MLB games, Ichiro collected 3,089 hits, 117 home runs, 509 steals, and produced a .311/.355/.402 slash line. He also earned ten Gold Gloves and two batting titles.
In total, Ichiro’s professional career spanned 28 seasons, during which he racked up 235 home runs, stole 708 bases, and a record-setting 4,367 total hits. He won nine batting titles and slashed .322/.373/.434 overall.
Of course, Ichiro Suzuki is also expected to be selected for MLB’s National Baseball Hall of Fame next week. Whether or not he will enter unanimously remains to be seen as he currently sits at 100% with 42.6% of ballots revealed. Regardless, the right fielder is set to become the first Japanese player ever to enter Cooperstown.
WBN Japan:
Photo Credit: Outfielder Ichiro Suzuki #51 of the Seattle Mariners greets Head coach Tatsunori Hara #83 of the Yomiuri Giants prior to the game between the Yomiuri Giants and Seattle Mariners at Tokyo Dome on March 17, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Masterpress/Getty Images)
