Dave Parker, who died a month before he was to be inducted, and Dick Allen got into the Hall posthumously after being voted in by the classics committee.

Suzuki referened the lone writer who did not give him a Hall of Fame vote, saying that a previous invitation to dinner had now "expired."

Ichiro Suzuki, a remarkable hitter with dazzling speed and arm strength, not only broke stereotypes during a career played across two continents but also blazed a trail for a generation of Japanese-born players in Major League Baseball.