The National Baseball Hall of Fame will have three more plaques this summer.
Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner received the sport’s highest honor Tuesday and are headed to Cooperstown.
Ichiro is the first Japanese-born player to receive Hall of Fame honors. He received 99.7% of the votes, one vote shy of becoming the second player elected unanimously. Players need at least 75% of the vote to be admitted.
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Seattle Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki greets fans after a game against the Oakland Athletics at the Tokyo Dome. (Darren Yamashita/USA Today Sports)
Ichiro joined the majors in 2001 as a highly touted Japanese prospect, batting .353 during his nine seasons playing in his home country, where he won three MVP awards and was a seven-time All-Star. Joining the Seattle Mariners at age 28, he immediately lived up to the hype, winning the American League Most Valuable Player and helping that year’s Mariners team to a record 116 wins.
From 2001 to 2010, Ichiro was named an All-Star in each season and also won a Gold Glove each year. In that span, he earned three Silver Slugger Awards and won two batting titles with a .331 average and .806 OPS. In 2004, he set the all-time single-season record with 262 hits, and is the only player in MLB history to record 10 consecutive seasons of 200+ hits. He also stole more than 500 bases and is one of only seven to record 3,000 hits and 500 stolen bases.
After just his 11th MLB game, his career average never dipped below .300 again. He retired with a .311 average, 3,089 hits and a 60.0 WAR. In the live-ball era (since 1920), he is one of only 21 players with at least 10 seasons hitting .300 (among qualified hitters), and only one of seven to do so for 10 consecutive years. Ichiro spent most of his career with the Mariners, making stops with the Yankees and Marlins.
Former Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki throws a ball into the dugout before throwing out the first pitch for a game against the Houston Astros at T-Mobile Park. (Joe Nicholson/USA Today Sports)
Sabathia, like Ichiro, got the nod in his first year on the ballot. He is one of 19 pitchers to record 3,000 strikeouts and dominated the 2000s. From 2007 to 2011, he finished in the top five in Cy Young Award voting each year, winning the award in 2007. However, one of those seasons It was the 2008 season, when he finished fifth in NL voting despite being traded from Cleveland. in the American League to the National League Brewers in July.
During his brief stint in Milwaukee (17 starts), he pitched seven complete games and pitched to a 1.65 ERA, with much of his work being done on three days’ rest as the Brewers advanced toward the postseason.
The left-hander won a World Series with the Yankees in 2009 in his first season in what was then the largest contract ever given to a pitcher. He struggled from 2013 to 2015, pitching to a 4.81 ERA as alcoholism had become a detriment to his career and life. However, after rehab, he reinvented himself as a smooth pitcher and posted three more seasons with a sub-4.00 ERA.
He retired after the 2019 season with a career 3.74 ERA, 3,093 strikeouts, 251 wins and six All-Star Game appearances. On the last pitch of his MLB career, he dislocated his shoulder and joked that he pitched until he couldn’t.
New York Yankees starting pitcher CC Sabathia greets fans during his ceremony before a game between the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium. (Vincent Carchietta/USA Today Sports)
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Wagner got the nod in his final year of eligibility after falling just five votes short last year. And although he admitted that the wait has been a “nightmare,” his numbers deserve the honor.
Since 1920, among relievers with more than 500 innings, his 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings are the fourth-most in MLB history. His 422 saves rank seventh, while his 2.31 ERA is second, behind only Mariano Rivera. Wagner was elite from start to finish. His lowest ERA in a season came in his last, when he posted a 1.43 ERA in 2010. He also has the highest strikeout rate and lowest batting average among pitchers with over 900 innings.
Spending time with the Astros, Phillies, Mets, Red Sox and Braves, Wagner was a seven-time All-Star and twice received Cy Young Award votes. Sabathia got 86.6% of the vote, while Wagner got 82.5%.
Billy Wagner of the Houston Astros pitches against the San Diego Padres on April 23, 2000 in San Diego. (Sporting News via Getty Images via Getty Images)
Dave Parker and Dick Allen were chosen last month by the Classic Era Committee and all five players will be enshrined this summer.
