At this point Ichiro was 44 years old, and his career had become a sort of personal quest that transcended baseball itself. He was a few steps slower and, for that reason, had been moved to left field.

If that remains the case when the final results are released by the Baseball Writers Association of America on Tuesday, Ichiro will be the first Japanese-born player in the Hall of Fame and just the second player ever to be unanimously elected to Cooperstown.