Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, falling one vote shy of unanimity in his election Tuesday along with CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner.
Suzuki received 393 of 394 votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Sabathia had 342 ballots and Wagner had 325, 29 more than the 296 needed for the required 75 percent.
Sabathia and Suzuki were elected in their first appearance on the ballot. Wagner made it on his tenth and final attempt.
The trio will be inducted into the Cooperstown Hall on July 27 along with Dave Parker and Dick Allen, who were elected by the Classic Era Committee last month.
Mariano Rivera remained 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 out of 396 in 2020.
Carlos Beltran missed 19 votes on his first ballot with 70.3 percent, up from 57.1 percent last year and 46.5 percent in 2023. He was followed by Andruw Jones with 261 for 66.2 percent, up 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 in 2001 as a 27-year-old and, along with Fred Lynn in 1975, became the only players to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season. A two-time AL batting champion and 10-time All-Star and Gold Glove outfielder, he hit .311 with 117 home runs, 780 RBIs and 509 stolen bases with Seattle (2001-12, 2018-19), the New York Yankees ( 2012-14) and Miami (2015-17).
He is perhaps the best contact hitter of all time, with 1,278 hits in Nippon Professional Baseball and 3,089 in MLB, including a single-season record of 262 in 2004. His 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 title in 2009. He posted a 251-161 record with a 3.74 ERA and 3,093 strikeouts, third among left-handed hitters behind Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton. during 19 seasons with Cleveland (2001-08), Milwaukee (2008) and the New York Yankees (2009-19).
Wagner received 284 votes and 73.8 percent in the 2024 ballot, five votes fewer than third baseman Adrian Beltre, catcher/first baseman Joe Mauer and first baseman Todd Helton. Wagner only received 10.5 percent support in his first appearance in 2016.
He became the ninth pitcher in the Hall to be primarily a reliever, joining Hoyt Wilhelm, Rollie Fingers, Dennis Eckersley, Bruce Sutter, Goose Gossage, Trevor Hoffman, Lee Smith and Rivera – the first left-hander among them.
A seven-time All-Star, Wagner posted a 47-40 record 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 fell behind on voting because they were suspended for using performance-enhancing drugs. Rodriguez got 37.1 percent in his fourth appearance, up from 34.8 percent, and Ramirez got 34.3 percent in his ninth appearance, up from 32.5 percent.
Andy Pettitte received 110 votes and 27.9 percent in his seventh appearance, double his 13.5 percent last year. Felix Hernandez received 81 votes and 20.6 percent in his first round of voting.
The players include 278 of the 351 Hall of Famers elected, 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 future ballots if they receive less than 5 percent.
Cole Hamels, Ryan Braun and Matt Kemp will be on the ballot next year.
