Welcome to the Hall of Fame, Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner. It's a remarkable achievement to survive the gauntlet of baseball writers to get elected to Cooperstown: After all, the Baseball Hall of Fame remains the toughest to gain entry to,

Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese player chosen for baseball’s Hall of Fame, falling one vote shy of unanimous when he was elected along with CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner.

On the same day that Ichiro Suzuki learned that he'd been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Seattle Mariners announced that they'll retire his No. 51 during the upcoming season: On August 9, we’ll officially retire Ichiro’s iconic No. 51. #IchiroHOF 8月9日に、イチローの「51」は正式に永久欠番となる。 🔗 https://t.co/7tWKi0G8Dt pic.twitter.com/d794RDFx4r