The longtime Seattle Mariners ace is set to be at the forefront of the argument for a new generation of pitchers.

Ichiro falls a vote short of being the second unanimous choice ever. CC makes it in his first year of eligibility, Wagner in his last. The recent ballot glut has cleared.

King Félix will have to wait for his potential crowning ceremony, but Tuesday night’s announcement was a solid debut for the former Mariners ace’s chances for enshrinement into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Ichiro will join fellow Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martinez, and Jackie Robinson as the only players to have their uniform number retired by the M's.

Ichiro Suzuki missed unanimous election to the Baseball Hall of Fame by one vote Tuesday night when he headlined a three-player class selected by the 394 voting members of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Ichiro Suzuki has made even more history. The all-time great hitter is heading to Cooperstown, with C.C. Sabathia and Billy Wagner joining him.

The trio of stars, each of whom spent part of their career in New York, will be inducted in Cooperstown on July 27.

Used to leading off, Ichiro Suzuki got antsy when he had to wait. Considered a no-doubt pick for baseball's Hall of Fame and possibly the second unanimous selection, he waited by the phone for the expected call Tuesday.

Tuesday is one of the holy days on the baseball calendar, the announcement of players voted into the Hall of Fame. The honor is extreme and well-earned, with just over 1% of all big leaguers making it to Cooperstown for what they did as players: 275 out of 23,370.

Ichiro, who spent parts of 14 years with the Mariners, will become the third player to wear an M's hat in Cooperstown!

It started in 1992. That’s when Ichiro made his debut in professional baseball. In 1992, Ichiro made his debut for the Orix Blue Wave at the age of 18.