Baseball: Ichiro joins Japan Hall of Fame before U.S. announcement

Ichiro Suzuki, who had a total of 4,367 hits between Japan and the United States, was announced as one of the newest members of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame on Thursday.The former Seattle Mariners outfielder was elected in his first year of eligibility in Japan before the U.S. National Baseball Hall of Fame announces its new members Tuesday, from a slate of candidates among recently retired players, including him.The 51-year-old Suzuki's entry into Japan's hall came a day before the 30th anniversary of a devastating earthquake that killed more than 6,400 people in his then Orix BlueWa…READ FULL ARTICLE