Ichiro Suzuki headlines newest Baseball Hall of Fame class; 2 others elected to Cooperstown

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 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 vote, one vote shy of becoming the second player unanimously elected. Players need at least 75% of the vote to be inducted.

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Ichiro joined the majors in 2001 as a highly touted Japanese prospect, hitting .353 during his nine seasons playing in his home country, where he won three MVPs and was a seven-time All-Star. Joining the Seattle Mariners at age 28, he immediately lived up to the hype, winning the 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 each season while also winning a Gold Glove Award every year. In that span, he earned three Silver Slugger Awards and won two batting titles while putting up a .331 average and .806 OPS.  In 2004, he set the all-time single-season record with 262 hits, and he’s the only player in MLB history to register 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 average never again dipped below .300. 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 just 21 players with at least 10 seasons hitting .300 (among qualified hitters), and only one of seven to do it 10 straight years. Ichiro spent the majority of his career with the Mariners, making stops with the Yankees and Marlins.

Sabathia, like Ichiro, got the 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 Cy Young Award voting each year, winning the award in 2007. One of those seasons, though, was the 2008 campaign when he finished in fifth in the NL vote despite being trading 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 on 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, pitching to a 4.81 ERA as alcoholism had become a detriment to his career and life. After rehab, though, he reinvented himself as a finesse pitcher and recorded three more seasons with an ERA below 4.00. 

He retired after the 2019 season with a 3.74 career ERA, 3,093 strikeouts, 251 wins and six All-Star appearances. On the final pitch of his MLB career, he dislocated his shoulder, and he joked that he pitched until he no longer could.

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Wagner got the nod in his final year of eligibility after coming up just five votes short last year. And while he admitted it's been a "nightmare" to wait, his numbers are deserving of the honor.

Since 1920, among relievers with 500-plus 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 final one, 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.

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 received 82.5%.

Dave Parker and Dick Allen were elected last month by the Classic Era Committee, and the five players will be enshrined this summer.

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