MLB Icon Ichiro Pledges to Donate Personal Memorabilia Collection to Baseball HOF

Ichiro's presence in the Baseball Hall of Fame will extend far beyond his own induction ceremony and plaque that will be placed in the building this summer.

On the Refuse to Lose podcast (h/t ESPN.com), former National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum president Jeff Idelson announced Ichiro plans to donate his entire collection of personal memorabilia.

"It culminated with him wanting to follow in the footsteps of Hank Aaron and Tom Seaver, two players who pledged their entire collections to Cooperstown," Idelson said. "Ichiro said, 'I want to be the third much later in my life.'"

It's unclear exactly how many items will be included in the donation. Hank Aaron's donations included the bat from his 500th and 600th career home runs and 3,000th hit, the uniform from his 715th homer, his 1957 NL MVP award and World Series ring.

There is no shortage of items Ichiro could donate to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He's one of only two players in MLB history to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season.

Ichiro had 3,089 career hits in the big leagues, so presumably he has a bat and/or ball from his first hit and 3,000th hit. He has more hits than any player in professional baseball history when you add in his NPB stats (4,367).

The 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame class includes Ichiro, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner. Ichiro finished one vote shy of being the second player ever elected unanimously (Mariano Rivera).

Ichiro and the entire class will officially be inducted into the Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Cooperstown on July 27.