OP didn't say Lofton was better, did they? They are making a valid point. Ichiro's numbers are better, but they were still comparable hitters in most categories. If Ichiro is a first ballot HoFer, then what happened to Lofton was a horrible injustice. A similar case can be made about Bobby Abreu, who was arguably a better hitter than Ichiro. Abreu is still in the ballot, but he's unlikely to get the votes to get in via the BBWA.