Few Americans knew what to expect from Ichiro Suzuki when he first came to the United States in 2001. He was an otherworldly hitter in Japan, where he tore up NPB with a triple slash line of .353/.421/.522 across nine seasons, winning Seven straight batting titles and three Pacific League MVPs. He was a Rothschild celebrity in his homeland. But while the likes of Hideo Nomo (and, Much earlierMasanori Murakami) paved the way for Japanese pitchers to play in Major League Baseball, and no regular player has crossed it until now.
So, even with that impressive resume, the Mariners weren’t completely sold on Ichiro until late in spring training when he made his first start. Head coach Lou Piniella and his coaching staff wanted to see if he could “run the ball.” As told by Jake Kring Schreifels Ringing In 2021, the 27-year-old made his statement:
Later that day, in a 7-4 loss to the Athletics, Ichiro took his manager’s cue. After hitting two doubles to left field, he stepped up to the plate in the seventh inning, sweeping the diamond with his right arm perpendicular to the ground, and slamming his hands through a low fastball to lift a run into the bullpen behind right field. Field wall. “He came back to the dugout, got ready to come down the stairs to take off his helmet, and said, ‘Is this ball’s turn, Lou?’ [bench coach John] McLaren says. “It’s funny that way.”
Ichiro would be more than fine, on his way to a surprisingly good start to his MLB career that saw him win the American League Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player honors for the Mariners’ club record 116 wins. He led the majors in stolen bases and hits, won his first batting crown by hitting .350, and later amazing In his first month on defense, he won his first of 10 consecutive Gold Gloves (to go along with 10 consecutive All-Star seasons and 200 strikeouts).
Once the dust settled and the icon tipped his hat to fans one last time in 2019, Ichiro had 3,089 hits and 4,367 with his NPB numbers, more than even Pete Rose. He broke Hall of Famer George Sisler’s 84-year-old record with 262 strikeouts in the 2004 campaign alone.
As the successes continued throughout the 2000s, it soon became clear that Ichiro was destined to become the first Japanese player to reach the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
That day is today. Tuesday night, Hall of Famer Results announced for their last elections. The Baseball Writers’ Association of America has voted Ichiro, outstanding southpaw CC Sabathia, and closer Billy Wagner into the Hall of Fame. The trio received the necessary 75 percent of the vote for his inauguration, with Ichiro falling one vote shy of the 99.7 percent consensus, Sabathia receiving 86.6 percent, and Wagner receiving 82.5 percent.
Sabathia will join Ichiro as a member of the first voting room. The 2007 AL Cy Young Award winner walked into Cooperstown by virtue of being one of the last true shortstops in modern baseball. During his 19-year career, he started 560 games, threw 3,577.1 innings and struck out 3,093, which ranks third in MLB history among all left-handed pitchers, trailing only Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton. He burst onto the scene as Rookie of the Year runner-up to Ichiro in 2001, and after establishing himself as Cleveland’s best player, he helped Milwaukee end a 26-year playoff drought in 2008 by having a remarkable run that saw him take over the No. 1 seed. Ball on short rest over and over again in September like Brewers Won the wild card.
The Yankees added Sabathia as part of their spending spree in 2008-09, and along with fellow newcomers Mark Teixeira, AJ Burnett and Nick Swisher, he won the ALCS MVP award while helping Derek Jeter’s “Core Four” win their last championship in 2009. Sabathia made six teams each stars before Conflict on and off the field It led to a mid-career decline. CC recovered, reinvented himself as a pitcher, and eventually became a productive member of the rotation again in time for Aaron Judge’s late 2010 emergence in the Bronx. Don’t be fooled by his career 3.74 ERA; He pitched in an attack-heavy environment and that mark was 16 percent better than league average by ERA+. Add to that the hard hitting, toughness, and good personality, and you have a clear-cut Hall of Famer.
Ichiro and Sabathia got in on the first ballot, but Wagner had to wait until his tenth and final year of eligibility to join Cooperstown’s elite. He appeared first on the crowded ballot again 2016which has already produced dozens of Hall of Famers. BBWAA members are limited to a maximum of 10 voting places, and it was easy for former members to get lost in the shuffle; In fact, it took until his fourth year on the ballot for him to receive 12% of the vote. Wagner has made gradual gains since then, missing out on the inauguration by just five votes in 2024 before getting the nod this time.
A relief pitcher who makes the Hall of Fame is sure to raise some eyebrows. Only a few closers got on the boards for Cooperstown and Wagner didn’t even reach 1,000 career innings. If some fans think that’s not enough, that’s a respectable position.
However, Wagner was not normally close. Despite his fairly diminutive size, he was a true fireball player and strikeout artist who fanned hitters at rates far exceeding the league average. The Wagner K/9 is actually era-weighted Second place to the only Nolan Ryan in MLB history since integration. They played very different roles, but that’s how much control Wagner had at the end of ballgames for the team Astros, MetsAnd more. Fan graphs Jay Jaffe He has more:
At the 900 innings level, Wagner’s opponent’s .187 batting average is the lowest in history, which is 17 points better than the next pitcher of the 20th or 21st century, Nolan Ryan, although if we lower the bar to 800 innings, Kimbrel (.169) and Janssen (.183) sneak up behind him. Again using the 900-inning cutoff, Rivera is the only post-1920 pitcher to have a lower ERA (2.21) or higher ERA+ (205) than Wagner’s 2.31 and 187. His FIP of 2.73 is third lowest in that span, behind only [Jacob] deGrom (2.59) and Sandy Koufax (2.69). Meanwhile, his 0.998 WHIP is third lowest all-time behind dead-ball era pitchers Addie Joss (0.968) and deGrom (0.994).
Wagner made 422 saves, and what’s more, he walked away from the game while still outmatched. He made his seventh and final All-Star team with Atlanta in 2010, recording a 1.43 ERA and 0.865 WHIP while striking out 104 in 69.1 innings with 37 saves. However, he chose to retire at age 38, leaving open the possibility of more room at the table for compiling traditional counting statistics.
In addition to Ichiro, Sabathia and Wagner, Dick Allen and Dave Parker will each be honored in the Hall of Fame Class of 2025. The players of the 1970s were voted on by the Classic Baseball Era Committee in December. Allen died in 2020, but his family will attend the induction ceremonies in July along with the other four Hall of Famers. Guardians broadcaster Tom Hamilton is retired The Washington Post Writer Thomas Boswell will be honored with the Ford C. Frick Award and the BBWAA Career Excellence Award, respectively.
The “Wait Until Next Year” crowd will be highlighted by Carlos Beltran, who crossed the 75 percent threshold over Ryan Thibodeaux Track the general ballot before falling below that when private ballot totals are included. He finished at 70.3 percent. Andrew Jones isn’t too far behind either at 66.2 percent, and with 39.8 percent, Chase Utley has made significant gains from his debut of 28.8 percent on the ballot last year. Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez remain stuck in sub-40 percent purgatory, their incredible careers mired in PED suspensions.
First-year candidates Felix Hernandez and Dustin Pedroia earned the five percent needed to remain on the ballot next year along with Beltran, Jones, Utley, A-Rod, Ramirez, Bobby Abreu, Omar Vizquel, Jimmy Rollins, Andy Pettit, Mark Burley and Francisco. Rodriguez, Tori Hunter, and David Wright. Catchers Russell Martin and Brian McCann were among the players who received less than five percent, and who will not be included on the 2026 ballot.
The full voting total can be found below. Congratulations to the new Hall of Fame!
