Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese player chosen for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, losing one vote short of unanimous approval 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 on 325, 29 more than the 296 needed to get the required 75 percent.
Sabathia and Suzuki were elected on their first appearance on the ballot. Wagner made his 10th and final try.
The trio will be inducted into the Cooperstown Hall on July 27 alongside Dave Parker and Dick Allen, elected last month by the Classic Era Committee.
Mariano Rivera remained the only player to receive 100% of the BBWAA vote, appearing on all 425 ballots in 2019. Derek Jeter was chosen on 395 of 396 in 2020.
Carlos Beltran lost 19 votes to 70.3 percent, compared to 57.1 percent last year and 46.5 percent in 2023 when he first appeared on the ballot. He was followed by Andruw Jones with 261 for 66.2 percent, an increase from 61.6 percent last year and 7.3 percent in his first appearance in 2018.
Best contact hitter of all time?
Suzuki came to Major League Baseball from Japan at the age of 27 in 2001 and joined Fred Lynn in 1975 as the only players to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season . He was a two-time AL batting champion and 10-time All-Star and Gold Glove outfielder, hitting .311 with 117 home runs, 780 RBIs and 509 stolen bases with Seattle (2001-12, 2018-19), the Yankees from New York. (2012-14) and Miami (2015-17).
He is perhaps the greatest contact hitter of all time, with 1,278 hits in Nippon Professional Baseball and 3,089 in MLB, including a season record of 262 in 2004. His combined total of 4,367 exceeds the record of Pete Rose in MLB of 4,256.
Sabathia was a six-time All-Star who won the 2007 AL Cy Young Award and a World Series title in 2009. He went 251-161 with a 3.74 ERA and 3,093 strikeouts, third among lefties behind Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton, for 19 seasons with Cleveland (2001-08), Milwaukee (2008) and the New York Yankees (2009-19).
Wagner received 284 votes and 73.8 percent on the 2024 ballot, five votes fewer, when third baseman Adrian Beltre, catcher/first baseman Joe Mauer and first baseman Todd Helton won. been elected. Wagner received just 10.5 percent support during his first appearance in 2016.
He became the Hall’s ninth pitcher who was primarily a reliever – the first left-hander among them – after 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), the 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 innings are the fewest among Hall of Famers.
Chase Utley finished sixth with 157 votes for 39.8 percent, an increase from 28.8 percent in his first appearance.
Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez lag behind in the vote, hurt by suspensions for performance-enhancing drugs. Rodriguez scored 37.1 percent in his fourth appearance, up from 34.8 percent, and Ramirez scored 34.3 percent in his ninth, an increase from 32.5 percent.
Andy Pettitte received 110 votes and 27.9 percent in his seventh appearance, double from last year’s 13.5 percent. Felix Hernández received 81 votes, or 20.6 percent, in his first round of voting.
Players represent 278 of the Hall of Fame’s 351 elected members, 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 excluded from upcoming ballots after receiving less than 5 percent.
Cole Hamels, Ryan Braun and Matt Kemp will join the ballot next year.
