If you want someone for your next celebrity roast, Suzuki Kazuma could be your man.
Mixing despicable humor and heartfelt messages, the first Japanese-born player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame stole a show in Cooperstown on Sunday.
The morning shower and dark sky delayed the ritual for an hour, but the moisture gave way to the bright sky and temperature. During Suzuki’s acceptance speech, the sun appeared to be the brightest.
Outfielders are pitcher CC Sabathia, who was selected in his first year of qualification, and Billy Wagner, who was closer to him, who was the writer’s final attempt. Suzuki collapsed in a shy vote that was a unanimous choice, and he took a jab at an unidentified sportswriter who didn’t vote for him.
“3,000 or 262 hits in a season are two achievements recognized by writers.
“By the way, the writer’s offer to have dinner at my house has now expired,” he adds, focusing on “exceeding.”
The ERA Committee’s choice to close the class of 2025 concluded. Dave Parker won the nickname Cobra in 20 major league seasons and Slugger Dick Allen. Parker passed away on June 28th.
An estimated 30,000 fans were busy in the fields adjacent to the Clark Sports Center, Sun Beras and the Japanese flag. Suzuki’s No. 51 was apparently ubiquitous as a fan, and chanted “Ichiro” several times throughout the day as thousands of Seattle Mariners boosters trekked from the Pacific Northwest. Signs reading “Thanks to Ichiro! Legend forever” in the English language and Japan summarised his praises for Suzuki on his special day.
With 52 Hall of Fame inductees back, Suzuki paid tribute to Cooperstown’s new baseball home and his worshipping fans by delivering an 18-minute speech in English. His humor, a surprise to many, pleased the crowd.
He threw shade at the Miami Marlins, the last stop of his professional career.
“To be honest, when you all offered to sign in 2015, I never heard of your team,” Suzuki joked.
He invited the kids to show up for their spring training every year with their “already in shape” arms to hear Mariners broadcaster Rick Liz’s Scream.
He took a little time for some tongue humility.
“People often measure me on my record. 3,000 hits. 10 gold gloves. 10 seasons of 200 hits.
“Not bad, isn’t it?” Suzuki laughed even more.
He thanked his late agent Tony Anastasio, who “took me to America and taught me to love wine.”
But he also took the time to reach the roots of what made him extraordinary.
“Baseball isn’t just about hitting, throwing, running. Baseball taught me to make important decisions about things that matter. It helped shape my view of life and the world. “When fans use their precious time to watch you play, you’re responsible for playing for them, whether you’re winning at 10 or losing at 10.”
“Baseball has taught me what it means to be a professional, and I think that’s the main reason I’m here today. I wouldn’t have achieved numbers in all 19 seasons without paying attention to small details every day.”
Now he has reached the top and overcome the suspicious person. One of them said to him: “Don’t shy about the people,” he is proud of his hometown.
“Being inducted into the American baseball hall of fame was by no means my goal. I didn’t even know that there was. I first visited Cooperstown in 2001 and being here today certainly feels like a great dream.”
Sabathia thanked “even Ichiro, who stole my Rookie of the Year Award (2001), the great player sitting behind me.” He paid tribute to Parker and spoke about black culture in today’s game.
“It’s a special honor to be part of Dave’s Hall of Fame class. He was the father of a generation of Black Stars. In the ’80s and early ’90s, when I first started watching baseball and Dave Parker crushed Homer, the number of black players in the major leagues was at a peak of 18%.
“Baseball has always been a great game for black athletes, but baseball culture hasn’t always been great for black people. We’re starting to turn that around. I don’t want to be the last member of the Black Ace, a black pitcher to win 20 games.
Wagner urged younger players to treat obstacles as “stepping stones, not obstacles.”
“I wasn’t the biggest player. I wasn’t supposed to be here. There were only seven full-time bailouts in the Hall of Fame.
Suzuki received 393 (99.7%) of the 394 votes from the American Association of Baseball Writers. Sabathia was selected with 342 votes (86.8%) and 325 (82.5%) Wagner. This was 29 votes or more than 296 needed for the 75% needed.
After arriving in the majors in 2001, Suzuki joined Fredlin (1975) as the only player to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season.
Suzuki is a two-time Albatting champion and a 10-time All-Star and Gold Glove winner, hitting .311 with 117 Homer, 780 RBI, 509 stolen bases, Seattle, New York Yankees and Miami.
He is perhaps the best contact hitter of all time, with 1,278 hits on Nippon Prossile Baseball, including a 2004 season record of 262 and 3,089 hits on MLB.
Sabathia, second to Suzuki in the 2001 Altukee of the Year vote, was a six-time All-star to win the 2007 Altsy Young Award and the World Series title.
The seven-time All-Star Wagner was 47-40 with an ERA of 2.31 and 422 saves from Houston, Philadelphia, the New York Mets, Boston and Atlanta.
Tom Hamilton and Tom Boswell were also recognized over the Hall of Fame weekend. Hamilton was the leading radio station for the Cleveland Guardians franchise for 35 seasons and was awarded the Ford C. Flick Award. Boswell, a retired sports columnist who spent his entire career with the Washington Post, was awarded the BBWAA Career Excellence Award.
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