Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner into Baseball Hall of Fame

Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese-born player elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, falling one vote short of unanimous selection, and he is joined in the Class of 2025 by starting pitcher CC Sabathia and closer Billy Wagner.

Suzuki, who received 393 of 394 votes in the Baseball Writers’ Association of America poll, would have joined Yankees great Mariano Rivera (2019) as the only unanimous selection. Instead, Suzuki’s 99.746% of the vote is second only to Derek Jeter’s 99.748% (396 of 397 votes cast in 2020) as the highest plurality for a position player in Hall of Fame voting, according to the BBWAA.

“There was a time when I didn’t even get a chance to play in the MLB,” Suzuki told MLB Network. “What an honor it is for me to be here and be a Hall of Famer.”

Suzuki collected 2,542 of his 3,089 career hits as a member of the Seattle Mariners. Before that, he collected 1,278 hits in the Nippon Professional Baseball League in Japan, giving him more total hits (4,367) than Pete Rose, MLB’s all-time leader.

Suzuki didn’t make his MLB debut until he was 27 years old, but he exploded onto the scene in 2001 by winning Rookie of the Year and MVP honors in his first season, leading Seattle to a record-tying 116 regular-season wins.

Suzuki and Sabathia finished first and second in 2001 American League Rookie of the Year voting and were later teammates for two seasons with the Yankees.

Sabathia, who won 251 career games, was also on the ballot for the first time. He was the 2007 AL Cy Young winner while with Cleveland and a six-time All-Star. His 3,093 career strikeouts make him one of 19 members of the 3,000 strikeout club. He was named on 86.8% of the ballots

Wagner’s 422 career saves — 225 of which came with the Houston Astros — are the eighth most in big league history. His selection comes in his 10th and final appearance on the BBWAA ballot, earning 82.5% for the seven-time All-Star.

Right on the ballot, outfielder Carlos Beltran, who was named on 70.3% of the ballots, came back short of the 75% threshold needed for election.

Beltran won 1999 AL Rookie of the Year honors while in Kansas City. He went on to make nine All-Star teams and became one of five players in history with at least 400 homers and 300 stolen bases.

A key member and clubhouse manager of the controversial 2017 World Series champion Astros, whose legacy was tarnished by a sign-stealing scandal, Beltran’s selection would have boded well for other members of that team who will be considered for years to come.

Also short was 10-time Gold Glove outfielder Andruw Jones, who was named on 66.2% of the ballots. Jones saw an increase over last year’s total (61.6%) and still has two years of voting eligibility remaining.

PED-associated players on the ballot didn’t make much headway on the ballot. Alex Rodriguez finished with 37.1%, while Manny Ramirez was at 34.3%.

The three BBWAA inductees, along with Dick Allen and Dave Parker, who were selected by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee in December, will be honored at the July 27 induction ceremony at the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown, New York.