In the bottom of the eighth inning of the April 11, 2001, game between the Oakland A's and visiting Seattle Mariners, A's outfielder Terrence Long bounced a leadoff single up the middle off Aaron Sele.

Ichiro will go into the Hall of Fame as professional baseball’s all-time leader in hits with 4,367 (3,089 in MLB and 1,278 in Japan) — more even than Pete Rose's 4,256. He broke George Sisler’s single-season hits mark of 257 in 2004. The new mark is 262.

Left-handed pitcher Hideo Nomo preceded him, and Hideki Matsui came ... the Orix BlueWave. Suzuki is a very common family name, and manager Akira Ohgi wanted to single out Ichiro for attention.

The baseball world was left delighted on Ichiro's induction into Cooperstown. But who opted to keep him off their ballot and deny him the glory of being a unanimous choice?

Ichiro Suzuki, whose outstanding play in Japanese baseball led him to international stardom in the major leagues, was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

TOKYO (AP) — Ichiro Suzuki is all about baseball ... Left-handed pitcher Hideo Nomo preceded him, and Hideki Matsui came just after, both boosting the country’s confidence in a period of ...

TOKYO (AP) — Ichiro Suzuki is all about baseball ... Left-handed pitcher Hideo Nomo preceded him, and Hideki Matsui came just after, both boosting the country's confidence in a period of ...

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.

“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.

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.