Ichiro was just one vote shy of being unanimously inducted into the Hall of Fame.

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — One of the best Mariners players in franchise history is set to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame this weekend in Cooperstown, New York.

Ichiro Suzuki began his U.S. professional career in Seattle with the Mariners and played a total of 14 seasons with the organization. Born in Japan, Ichiro played nine seasons in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league before crossing the Pacific Ocean to join the Mariners.

The induction ceremony is set for the morning of Sunday, July 27. Coverage of the full ceremony for Ichiro and the other inductees is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. PT.

From the moment he debuted with the Mariners on April 2, 2001, Ichiro was an instant star. In his “rookie” year in Major League Baseball (MLB) after almost a decade playing in Japan, Ichiro became just the second player in league history to win both the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards in the same season.

Ichiro set the MLB single-season record with 262 hits during the 2004 season, and his 10 consecutive 200-hit seasons are also a league milestone. He managed to top 3,000 hits during his career in MLB, even after over 1,200 hits in Japan. His 4,367 hits across his professional career are the most of any baseball player.

A tremendous rightfielder in addition to his talents at the plate, Ichiro won 10 Gold Gloves during his career for his prowess on defense. 

All 10 of his All-Star and Gold Glove accolades were achieved during his first stint in Seattle. Ichiro was traded to the New York Yankees on July 23, 2012. He also spent a few seasons with the Miami Marlins before returning to Seattle to conclude his MLB career, retiring in 2019.

Ichiro continues to pop up at Mariners games and remains closely affiliated with the organization. In August, the team plans to use a home weekend series to celebrate Ichiro’s induction. Among the events will be the Mariners officially retiring his No. 51 jersey on Saturday, Aug. 9 at T-Mobile Park.

Tickets are still available for the Aug. 8-10 series against the Tampa Bay Rays, so fans who want to celebrate Ichiro in person can visit the team’s web page.