Ichiro Suzuki the first Japanese player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, he was joined by Sabathia, Wagner
Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, falling one vote short of unanimity when he was elected Tuesday along with CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner.
Suzuki received 393 of 394 votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America. Sabathia was on 342 ballots and Wagner was on 325, 29 more than the 296 needed for the required 75 percent.
Sabathia and Suzuki were selected in their first appearance on the ballot. Wagner made it on his 10th and final attempt.
The trio will be inducted into the Cooperstown Hall on July 27 along with Dave Parker and Dick Allen, who were voted in by the Classic Era committee last month.
Mariano Rivera remains the only player to receive 100 percent of the vote from the BBWAA, appearing on all 425 ballots in 2019. Derek Jeter was selected 395 of 396 in 2020.
Carlos Beltran was 19 votes short of 70.3 percent, up from 57.1 percent last year and 46.5 percent in 2023 in his first election appearance. Andruw Jones followed with 261 for 66.2 percent, up from 61.6 percent last year and 7.3 percent when he first appeared in 2018.
The best contact striker ever?
Suzuki came to Major League Baseball from Japan as a 27-year-old in 2001 and joined Fred Lynn in 1975 as the only players to win Rookie of the Year and MVP honors in the same season. He was a two-time American League batting champion and 10-time All-Star and Gold Glove outfielder, hitting .311 with 117 homers, 780 runs batted in and 509 stolen bases for the Seattle (2001-12, 2018-19), New York Yankees (2012-14) and Miami (2015-17).
He may be the greatest contact hitter ever, with 1,278 hits in Nippon Professional Baseball and 3,089 in MLB, including a season-high 262 in 2004. His combined total of 4,367 surpasses Pete Rose’s MLB record of 4,256.
Sabathia was a six-time All-Star who won the AL Cy Young Award in 2007 and a World Series in 2009. He went 251-161 with a 3.74 earned run average and 3,093 strikeouts, third among left-handers behind Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton, during 19 seasons with Cleveland (2001-08), Milwaukee (2008) and New York Yankees (2009-19).
Wagner received 284 votes and 73.8 percent of the 2024 ballot, five votes short of third baseman Adrian Beltre, catcher/first baseman Joe Mauer and first baseman Todd Helton. In his first appearance in 2016, Wagner received only 10.5 percent support.
He became the ninth pitcher in the Hall who was primarily a reliever – the first lefty among them – following Hoyt Wilhelm, Rollie Fingers, Dennis Eckersley, Bruce Sutter, Goose Gossage, Trevor Hoffman, Lee Smith and Rivera.
A seven-time all-star, Wagner was 47-40 with a 2.31 ERA and 422 saves for Houston (1995-2003), Philadelphia (2004-05), New York Mets (2006-09), Boston (2009) and Atlanta ( 2010). His 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings are the most among pitchers with at least 900 innings, although his 903 career strikeouts are the fewest among Hall of Famers.
Chase Utley was sixth with 157 votes for 39.8 percent, up from 28.8 percent in his first appearance.
Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez were late on the ballot, hurt by performance-enhancing drug suspensions. Rodriguez hit 37.1 percent in his fourth appearance, up from 34.8 percent, and Ramirez hit 34.3 percent in his ninth, up from 32.5 percent.
Andy Pettitte received 110 votes and 27.9 percent in his seventh appearance, doubling from 13.5 percent last year. Felix Hernandez received 81 votes and 20.6 percent in his first ballot.
The players comprise 278 of the 351 elected to the Hall of Fame, including 142 on the BBWAA ballot, 62 of whom were elected in their first year of eligibility.
Carlos Gonzalez, Curtis Granderson, Adam Jones, Ian Kinsler, Russell Martin, Brian McCann, Hanley Ramirez, Fernando Rodney, Troy Tulowitzki and Ben Zobrist will be removed from future ballots after receiving less than five percent.
Cole Hamels, Ryan Braun and Matt Kemp will join next year’s ballot.
