For Ichiro Suzuki, whose baseball career defied convention and shattered records, his induction into the Hall of Fame has long felt less like a crowning achievement and more like an inevitable conclusion to one of the sport’s most remarkable journeys.

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.