Ichiro will be immortalized

Ichiro Suzuki was always known for his meticulous preparation during his 19-year career in Major League Baseball.

For his induction into the Hall of Fame? Not so much.

“Of course, I'm nervous and probably should be preparing more, but this morning I actually went out to the field, threw long distance and ran a little bit and did my training, so I guess for me that was more important,” Suzuki said yesterday through an interpreter on the eve of his induction.

Suzuki is the first Japanese player elected to the Hall and fell one vote short of becoming the second unanimous selection. Today, he will be joined by CC Sabathia, a six-time All-Star who won the American League Cy Young Award in 2007, and relief pitcher Billy Wagner. Dave Parker, who died a month before his induction, and Dick Allen will be honored posthumously. They were voted in by the Classic Era committee.

MLB has been profoundly impacted by Japan since Suzuki's arrival in 2001. His induction coincided with the opening of an exhibit at the Hall on Thursday titled Yakyu/Baseball: The Game's Trans-Pacific Exchange, which celebrates the ways Japanese and American baseball are interconnected. It honors not only Suzuki, but also pitcher Hideo Nomo and current two-way star Shohei Otani. — AP

Suzuki Voting

The Japanese received 393 of 394 votes (99.7%) from the Baseball Writers Association.

King of statistics

He was a two-time AL batting champion and a 10-time All-Star and Gold Glove outfielder, batting .311 with 117 home runs, 780 RBIs, and 509 stolen bases with Seattle, the Yankees, and Miami. He is perhaps the greatest contact hitter of all time, with 3,089 in MLB.