The Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2025 has been decided. Outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, pitcher CC Sabathia and reliever Billy Wagner have all been elected, each earning at least 75% of votes from eligible members of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Ichiro was nearly unanimously elected, 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 on this year’s ballot, with 70.3%.
While each player’s election is special and monumental, Suzuki’s rises above the rest. He’s Japan’s first Baseball Hall of Famer, and he was nearly the second player in history to be elected unanimously. Legendary Yankees closer Mariano Rivera (elected in 2019) remains the only inductee with that distinction.
Ichiro Suzuki
Suzuki, 51, had a lengthy, unprecedented career that spanned three decades in two countries. His pro career began as an 18-year-old in Japan after he was drafted by the Orix BlueWave. He spent nine years playing for Orix, many as a standout, before making the move to MLB by signing with the Seattle Mariners.
Once Ichiro arrived in the U.S., there was no stopping him. In 2001, he won AL Rookie of the Year as a 27-year-old, won the 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’s the only MLB hitter in the past 126 years to hit 200-plus singles in a year, and he did that two separate times. 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 collected while playing for the Mariners, Yankees and Marlins.
Beyond 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 single home game in the same chair using the same plate) and his impeccable fashion sense. Few athletes are as loved as he is in one country, but he’s beloved 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, coming in second in AL Rookie of the Year voting (behind Suzuki). He spent eight years in Cleveland, winning the 2007 AL…