Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese player to be selected for the Baseball Hall of Fame, falling just one unanimous vote short 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 received 342 ballots, and Wagner received 325, 29 more votes than the 296 needed to get the required 75 percent.
Sabatia and Suzuki were elected in their first appearance on the ballot. Wagner succeeded on his tenth and final attempt.
The trio will be inducted into the Hall in Cooperstown on July 27 with Dave Parker and Dick Allen, voted on last month by the Classic Era Committee.
Mariano Rivera remained the only player to receive 100 percent of the BBWAA votes, appearing on all 425 ballots in 2019. Derek Jeter was selected on 395 of 396 ballots in 2020.
Carlos Beltran trailed by 19 votes at 70.3 percent, up from 57.1 percent last year and 46.5 percent in 2023 in his first appearance on the ballot. He was followed by Andrew Jones with 261 for 66.2 percent, up from 61.6 percent last year and 7.3 percent when he debuted 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 a 10-time All-Star and Gold Glove player, hitting .311 with 117 homers, 780 RBIs and 509 stolen bases with Seattle (2001-12, 2018-19), New York Yankees (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 262 in 2004. His total of 4,367 surpasses Pete Rose’s MLB record of 4,256.
Sabathia was a six-time All-Star and 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 New York Yankees (2009-19).
Wagner received 284 votes and 73.8 percent on the 2024 ballot, by a margin of five votes, when third baseman Adrian Beltre, catcher/first baseman Joe Mauer and first baseman Todd Helton were elected. Wagner only received 10.5 percent support in his 2016 debut.
He became the ninth pitcher in the Hall who was primarily a reliever — the first left-handed among them — after Hoyt Wilhelm, Rollie Fingers, Dennis Eckersley, Bruce Sutter, Gus Gossage, Trevor Hoffman, Lee Smith and Rivera.
Wagner, a seven-time All-Star, was 47-40 with a 2.31 ERA and 422 saves for Houston (1995-03), Philadelphia (2004-05), New York Mets (2006-09), Boston (2009) and Atlanta (2010). His 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings pitch are the most among pitchers with at least 900 innings pitched, though his 903 career innings pitched are the fewest among Hall of Famers.
Chase Utley came in sixth place with 157 votes to 39.8 percent, up from 28.8 percent in his debut.
Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez were late to the vote, affected by suspensions due to performance-enhancing drugs. Rodriguez received 37.1 percent in his fourth appearance, up from 34.8 percent, and Ramirez received 34.3 percent in his ninth appearance, up from 32.5 percent.
Andy Pettit received 110 votes and 27.9 percent in his seventh appearance, double last year’s 13.5 percent. Felix Hernandez received 81 votes and 20.6 percent on his first ballot.
The players comprise 278 of the 351 elected members of the Hall of Fame, including 142 on the BBWAA ballot, of whom 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 percent.
Cole Hamels, Ryan Braun and Matt Kemp join the ballot next year.