The National Baseball Hall of Fame will have three more plaques this summer.
Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner were all awarded the sport’s highest honors 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 vote, one vote short of becoming the second player to be chosen unanimously. Players must receive at least 75% of the vote to be admitted.
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Seattle Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki waves to 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, hitting .353 during his nine seasons playing in his home country, winning three MVPs and being a seven-time All-Star. When he joined the Seattle Mariners at age 28, he immediately lived up to the hype, winning AL MVP and helping that year’s Mariners team to a record 116 wins.
From 2001 to 2010, Ichiro was named an All-Star in every season, while also winning a Gold Glove Award each year. In that span, he earned three Silver Slugger Awards and won two batting titles while posting 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 straight 200-plus hit seasons. He also stole over 500 bases and is one of just seven to record 3,000 hits and 500 stolen bases.
After just his 11th MLB game, his career batting 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 to hit .300 (among qualified hitters), and only one of seven to do so 10 consecutive years . Ichiro spent the majority of his career with the Mariners, with stops with the Yankees and Marlins.
Former Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki throws a ball to 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 a nod in his first year on the ballot. He is one of just 19 pitchers to record 3,000 strikeouts and dominated the 2000s. From 2007 to 2011, he finished in the top five of the Cy Young Award voting each year and won the award in 2007. One of those seasons, however, was the 2008 campaign when he finished fifth in the NL voting despite being traded from Cleveland in the American League to the National League’s Brewers in July.
During his short stint with Milwaukee (17 starts), he threw seven complete games and pitched to a 1.65 ERA, with plenty of his work coming off three days’ rest as the Brewers made a postseason push.
The lefty won a World Series with the Yankees in 2009 in his first season on what was then the largest contract ever given to a pitcher. He struggled from 2013 to 2015, posting a 4.81 ERA as alcoholism became a blight on his career and life. After rehab, he reinvented himself as a finesse pitcher and recorded three more seasons with an ERA under 4.00.
He retired after the 2019 season with a career 3.74 ERA, 3,093 strikeouts, 251 wins and six All-Star appearances. On the last pitch of his MLB career, he dislocated his shoulder, and he joked that he pitched until he couldn’t anymore.
New York Yankees starting pitcher CC Sabathia waves to 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 coming back just five votes last year. And while he admitted it’s been a “nightmare” to wait, his numbers deserve credit.
Since 1920, among relievers with 500-plus innings, his 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings the fourth most in MLB history. His 422 saves rank seventh, while his 2.31 ERA is second only to 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 against among pitchers with 900-plus innings.
Wagner, who spent time with the Astros, Phillies, Mets, Red Sox and Braves, was a seven-time All-Star and twice received Cy Young Award votes. Sabathia received 86.6% of the vote, while Wagner received 82.5%.
Billy Wagner of the Houston Astros pitches against the San Diego Padres on April 23, 2000 in San Diego. (Sports News via Getty Images via Getty Images)
Dave Parker and Dick Allen were selected last month by the Classic Era Committee, and the five players will be inducted this summer.
