Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, and Billy Wagner Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

Suzuki becomes the first Japanese player in Cooperstown, while Sabathia and Wagner earn their place in the Hall after impressive careers.

NEW YORK (AP) — In a thrilling moment for baseball fans, Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, and Billy Wagner were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday, cementing their legacies as some of the game’s greatest players. Suzuki, who was widely expected to be a first-ballot inductee, was honored alongside Sabathia and Wagner, marking a historic day for the sport.

Suzuki, who was the first Japanese position player to join Major League Baseball, received 393 votes out of 394, falling just one vote shy of a unanimous selection. The 49-year-old outfielder’s election makes him the first Japanese player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

“I don’t think anybody in this whole world thought that I would be a Hall of Famer,” Suzuki said through a translator, reflecting on his remarkable journey from Japan to baseball’s highest honor. “As a baseball player, this is definitely the top of the top.”

Suzuki’s career accomplishments are legendary. Known for his incredible contact-hitting skills, he holds both MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) records for hits, with 4,367 combined hits across both leagues—surpassing Pete Rose’s MLB record of 4,256. Suzuki also set a single-season record with 262 hits in 2004. Over the course of his career, he amassed 3,089 MLB hits, 117 home runs, 780 RBIs, and 509 stolen bases.

Joining Suzuki in the Hall of Fame is CC Sabathia, a dominant left-handed pitcher who earned 86.8% of the vote in his first year of eligibility. Sabathia’s 19-season career included 251 wins, a 3.74 ERA, and 3,093 strikeouts. He was a six-time All-Star, won the 2007 AL Cy Young Award, and helped lead the New York Yankees to a World Series title in 2009. Sabathia’s decision to retire after the 2019 season was influenced by his dedication to extending his career and adapting his pitching style to compensate for declining velocity.

Sabathia, who spent the majority of his career with the Yankees, expressed his desire to have a Yankees cap on his Hall of Fame plaque, saying, “The Yankees is the place that wanted me... I found a home in the Bronx and I don’t think I’ll ever leave this city.”

The third inductee, Billy Wagner, was selected in his 10th and final year on the ballot, earning 82.5% of the vote. Wagner, a seven-time All-Star and one of the most dominant closers in baseball history, finished his career with 422 saves and a 2.31 ERA. Known for his blazing fastball, Wagner is the only left-handed pitcher to be inducted primarily as a reliever, joining the ranks of Hall of Fame closers like Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera.

Wagner’s career was marked by his remarkable strikeout rate, with 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings, the highest among pitchers with at least 900 innings. After years of narrowly missing the Hall, Wagner expressed his pride in finally achieving the honor: “It means a lot.”

The three new inductees will be honored during the Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cooperstown on July 27, joining fellow honorees Dave Parker and Dick Allen, who were voted in last month by the classic era committee.

Other players on the ballot saw mixed results, with Carlos Beltrán falling just short of induction at 70.3%, Andruw Jones increasing his vote share to 66.2%, and Chase Utley garnering 39.8% of the vote. Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramírez, both associated with performance-enhancing drugs, saw modest gains in their vote totals.

As baseball continues to celebrate its rich history, the induction of Suzuki, Sabathia, and Wagner highlights the enduring legacies of these legendary players and the contributions they made to the game.