There was no surprise when it was announced that Ichiro Suzuki would enter the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. What was a surprise, though, was that one baseball writer didn’t think Ichiro deserved first-ballot consideration.

No one has ever walked through these doors with the sport-changing, Hall-changing, planet-changing possibilities of Ichiro.

Just one day after he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in an almost unanimous vote, Ichiro Suzuki still had jokes. It was probably to be expected for a player who made a side career out of unexpected quips and who the stories about his interactions with teammates have become legendary.

One of MLB's most adored figures, Suzuki's statistical accomplishments are staggering, and his success supercharged a Japanese talent pipeline that continues today.

Ichiro Suzuki wants to raise a glass with the voter who chose not to check off his name on the Hall of Fame ballot. Speaking through a translator, Suzuki says:

Legendary former MLB outfielder Ichiro Suzuki fell one vote shy of being a unanimous first-ballot Hall of Famer, and the voter who denied him that

The singular BBWAA voter who snubbed Ichiro Suzuki for the Hall of Fame is still at large — and is likely to remain so after the organization's final release of ballots. Each Hall of Fame ballot comes with an option for the writer's vote to be publicly released after the results are announced,

Ichiro earned election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7 percent of the vote. The one voter who didn't vote for the Seattle Mariners legend will remain hidden.