Suzuki nearly joined Mariano Rivera – a man tasked with pitching just one inning in almost all of his outings – as the only unanimous selections to the Hall. He received 393 of the 394 votes for a total of 99.

Derek Jeter, Sadaharu Oh and Hideki Matsui were among many to offer their praises Tuesday after former Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki became the first Asian player elected to the U.S. National Baseball Hall of Fame.