Baseball Hall of Fame: Ichiro Suzuki 1 vote short of unanimous election, joins CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner in 2025 class

The Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2025 has been decided. Outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, pitcher CC Sabathia and reliever Billy Wagner have all been selected, each earning at least 75% of the votes cast by eligible members of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Ichiro was almost unanimously chosen, but he missed that mark by just a single vote. Suzuki and Sabathia were both first-timers on the ballot. Wagner was in his 10th and final year. Sabathia received 86.8% of the vote and Wagner received 82.5%. Carlos Beltrán was the first man out of this year’s vote with 70.3%.

While each player’s choice is special and monumental, Suzuki’s rises above the rest. He is Japan’s first Baseball Hall of Famer, and he was almost the second player in history to be elected unanimously. Legendary Yankees closer Mariano Rivera (drafted in 2019) remains the only inductee with that distinction.

Ichiro Suzuki

Suzuki, 51, had a long, unprecedented career that spanned three decades in two countries. His pro career began as an 18-year-old in Japan after being drafted by Orix BlueWave. He spent nine years playing for Orix, many as a standout, before making the switch to the MLB by signing with the Seattle Mariners.

When Ichiro arrived in the United States, there was no stopping him. In 2001, he won AL Rookie of the Year at age 27, won AL MVP, went to his first of 10 consecutive All-Star Games, won his first of 10 Gold Gloves, and won his first of three Silver Sluggers. He is the only MLB hitter in the last 126 years to hit more than 200 singles in a year, and he did so on two separate occasions. He retired after 19 seasons in MLB with a lifetime triple slash of .311/.355/.402, 509 stolen bases and 3,089 hits, which he accumulated while playing for the Mariners, Yankees and Marlins.

In addition to his longevity, supernatural talent, and tireless dedication to his craft, story after story describes Suzuki’s incredible sense of humor, his love of wings (he ate them before every home game in the same chair with the same plate), and his impeccable sense of fashion. Few athletes are as loved as he is in one country, but he is loved in two.

CC Sabathia

Sabathia, 44, spent 19 years as a starting pitcher for Cleveland, the Milwaukee Brewers and the New York Yankees. Cleveland drafted him in the first round of the 1998 MLB Draft, and he immediately made an impact after his debut in 2001, finishing second in AL Rookie of the Year voting (behind Suzuki). He spent eight years in Cleveland, winning the AL Cy Young Award in 2007, before the team traded him to the playoff-hungry Brewers in 2008, with whom he played for just half a season. His regular season performance was spectacular, but he was hit by the Phillies (who won the World Series that year) in his only postseason start.

He signed with the Yankees in 2009 and made it to the top of the mountain with them, making three great playoff starts as New York beat Philly to win the 2009 World Series. It was the start of a 10-year run with the Yankees that had some ups and downs (2009-2012 was his best four-season run in the majors by a long shot, while 2013-2015 were three of the worst years of his career) , but it was clear from the moment Sabathia arrived that New York was where he belonged.

In October 2015, Sabathia entered rehab for alcoholism, an illness his father also battled. His return to baseball at the start of the 2016 season marked the beginning of a late-career resurgence that saw him put up his best numbers since the late 2000s. He retired with a lifetime ERA of 3.74 and 3,093 strikeouts over 3,577 1/3 innings. During his long career, Sabathia pitched at least 200 innings in a season eight times and more than 175 innings 14 times.

Billy Wagner

Wagner, 53, is getting on the ballot on his 10th and final attempt. Relievers (except for Mariano Rivera) typically struggle to get elected, but Wagner’s statistics, as well as an influx of younger voters, helped him build support over the past decade. A Division III athlete who was drafted in the first round out of Ferrum College, Wagner was a reliever and closer for 16 years in the MLB, spending most of his time with the Houston Astros (nine seasons) and shorter stints with the Phillies, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves.

With 422 career saves, Wagner is eighth on the all-time list and second among left-handers. His 2.31 ERA over 903 innings is the second lowest since 1900 by a pitcher with at least 900 innings. Amazingly, until the Astros first called him in 1995, he had been a starting pitcher his entire career. Still, his transition to reliever went smoothly, and he ended up saving a club-record 225 games for Houston.

Wagner was just five votes short of the 2024 Hall induction, something he learned while taking a break from practice with the Charlottesville, Va., baseball team he coaches. He told The Athletic that he had to fight the emotions of his close call in front of 30 kids and an NBC Nightly News camera crew (who had shown up uninvited). He called the situation “embarrassing.”

There are no such feelings this time. Wagner is headed to Cooperstown.