Ichiro Suzuki becomes 1st Japanese player elected into baseball’s Hall of Fame, joined by Sabathia, Wagner

Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese player chosen for baseball’s Hall of Fame, falling one vote shy of unanimous 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, which was 29 more than the 296 needed for the required 75 per cent.

Sabathia and Suzuki were elected in their first appearance on the ballot. Wagner made it on his 10th and final try.

The trio will be inducted into the Hall at Cooperstown on July 27 along with Dave Parker and Dick Allen, voted in last month by the classic era committee.

Mariano Rivera remained the only player to get 100 per cent of the vote from the BBWAA, appearing on all 425 ballots in 2019. Derek Jeter was chosen on 395 of 396 in 2020.

Carlos Beltran fell 19 votes short at 70.3 per cent, up from 57.1 per cent last year and 46.5 per cent in 2023 in his first ballot appearance. He was followed by Andruw Jones with 261 for 66.2 per cent, an increase from 61.6 per cent last year and 7.3 per cent when he first appeared in 2018.

Best contact hitter 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 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 homers, 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 ever, with 1,278 hits in Nippon Professional Baseball and 3,089 in MLB, including a season-record 262 in 2004. His combined total of 4,367 exceeds Pete Rose’s MLB record 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 left-handers 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 per cent in the 2024 balloting, five votes shy, when third baseman Adrian Beltre, catcher/first baseman Joe Mauer and first baseman Todd Helton were elected. Wagner received only 10.5 per cent support in his first appearance in 2016.

He became the ninth pitcher in the Hall 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, though his 903 career innings are the fewest among Hall of Famers.

Chase Utley was sixth with 157 votes for 39.8 per cent, an increase from 28.8 per cent in his first appearance.

Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez have lagged in voting, hurt by suspensions for performance-enhancing drugs. Rodriguez received 37.1 per cent in his fourth appearance, up from 34.8 per cent, and Ramirez got 34.3 per cent in his ninth, an increase from 32.5 per cent.

Andy Pettitte got 110 votes and 27.9 per cent in his seventh appearance, doubling from 13.5 per cent last year. Felix Hernandez received 81 votes and 20.6 per cent in his first ballot.

Players comprise 278 of 351 elected Hall of Famers, including 142 on the BBWAA ballot, of which 62 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 dropped from future ballots after receiving less than 5 per cent.

Cole Hamels, Ryan Braun and Matt Kemp join the ballot next year.