Ichiro Suzuki is all about baseball, but he's much more than that in Japan. Back home, he's a wellspring of national pride.

Ichiro Suzuki is all about baseball, but he’s much more than that in Japan. Back home, he’s a wellspring of national pride, much like Shohei Ohtani now. His triumphs across the Pacific buoyed the nation as Japan’s economy sputtered through the so-called lost decades of the 1990s and into the 2000s.

“It’s a little sweeter seeing Ichiro join CC in the same Hall of Fame class. Ichiro’s impact on baseball globally cannot be understated. He was one of the most uniquely skilled and talented players to ever play this sport, and I feel incredibly fortunate that his career path landed him in pinstripes.

The trio will be inducted into the Hall at Cooperstown on July 27 along with Dave Parker and Dick Allen, voted in last month by the classic era committee.

The career .311 MLB hitter was the 2001 AL MVP and Rookie of the Year and won 10 consecutive AL Gold Glove Awards, all with the Mariners.

Ichiro Suzuki, whose uncanny hitting talent made him a Seattle Mariners icon, became the first Japanese player elected to Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame on Tuesday.

Three MLB legends have been elected as the newest members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, starting pitcher CC Sabathia and reliever Billy Wagner will be enshrined this summer,

STATEMENT FROM YANKEES MANAGING GENERAL PARTNER HAL STEINBRENNER: “I am thrilled to see CC Sabathia receiving baseball’s ultimate individual honor, not only because of his elite performance on the mound,

An all-time international baseball icon will get his day in the Cooperstown sun this July, alongside pitchers CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner.

An all-time international baseball icon will get his day in the Cooperstown sun this July, alongside pitchers CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner.

While the D-Backs are soon to have one too many infielders, the New York Yankees are one short. Yankees’ GM Brian Cashman has been in an exhaustive search for an infielder all winter. Cashman has scoured the MLB looking for a plus fielder with a quality bat but is intent on maintaining a budget. Luckily, there may be a feasible solution.