Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, and former New York Mets closer Billy Wagner were introduced as the newest members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame
Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, and Billy Wagner have been elected this year. They join Dick Allen and Dave Parker, who were selected to the Hall of Fame by the Classic Era Committee in December 2024. The 2025 Induction Ceremony will take place on July 27 in Cooperstown.
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%.
Former New York Yankees Ichiro Suzuki and CC Sabathia, along with closer Billy Wagner, were voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday, joining Cl
Used to leading off, Ichiro Suzuki got antsy when he had to wait. Considered a no-doubt pick for baseball’s Hall of Fame and possibly the second unanimous selection, he waited by the phone for the expected call Tuesday.
In a video posted on X by sports writer Jose de Jesus Ortiz, Wagner leaned against a pool table while taking the call. He listened for more than 15 seconds before he put his hand on his face, fighting tears and hunching over. “Thank you,” he eventually said to the person on the other end of the phone.
As revealed Tuesday night, the Baseball Writers' Association of America voted in former Phillies closer Billy Wagner in his 10th and final year of eligibility. Wagner's name needed to appear on 75% of ballots to make it in. It appeared on 82.5%.
New York Mets catcher Paul Lo Duca, left, congratulates closer Billy Wagner by patting him on the cap after the Mets 4-3 win over the New York Yankees in 2006. Billy Wagner was unhittable as a pitcher and now he’s officially a baseball immortal.
Suzuki's close call means New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera remains the only unanimous electee. Rivera received all 425 votes in 2019. Another longtime Yankees icon, shortstop Derek Jeter, came within one vote of unanimous election in 2020. Suzuki, Rivera and Jeter were teammates with New York from 2012-13.
Billy Wagner, one of MLB’s top left-handed relievers, is inducted into the Hall of Fame in his final ballot year.
Flamethrowing left-hander Billy Wagner earned his spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday night, officially getting elected on his 10th and final time on the ballot. He'll go into Cooperstown on July 27 alongside Ichiro Suzuki and CC Sabathia,