Ichiro Becomes 1st Asian Elected to U.S. Baseball Hall of Fame

Cooperstown, New York, Jan. 21 (Jiji Press)--Former Japanese baseball star Ichiro Suzuki became the first Asian player elected to the U.S. National Baseball Hall of Fame, it was announced Tuesday.

Ichiro, 51, who made 3,089 hits when he played for the Seattle Mariners and other teams in the U.S. Major League Baseball, was approved by 393, or 99.7 pct, of all voting journalists of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, one vote short of a unanimous selection.

"My feelings about being able to reach this day are indescribable," Ichiro told a press conference after being named a Hall of Famer.

Ichiro accomplished 200 hits for 10 consecutive years for the first time in history. He also marked a batting average of .300, played in the MLB All-Star Game and won the Gold Glove award for outfielders for 10 years in a row.

During his career as a baseball player, including when he played for the Orix Buffaloes, a Japanese professional baseball team, Ichiro recorded a total of 4,367 hits, surpassing the MLB record of 4,256 hits held by Pete Rose, a former member of the Cincinnati Reds.

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