That was one of the best debut seasons ever. Ichiro was an All-Star and won a Silver Slugger and Gold Glove award in right field. He not only coasted to the Rookie of the Year award but narrowly surpassed Jason Giambi to win the MVP. He joined Fred Lynn as the only rookies to be named the Most Valuable Player.
Ichiro gave hint of great things to come as a rookie, when he hit .350, collected 242 hits, and stole 56 bases. The 10-time All-Star was MVP of the 2007 game in San Francisco, when he hit the only inside-the-park home run in the history of the Midsummer Classic.
The three BBWAA honorees will go in this summer along with Dave Parker and Dick Allen, voted in last month by the classic era committee.