NEW YORK — Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese player chosen for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, falling one vote shy of unanimous approval 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 was on 342 ballots and Wagner on 325, 29 more than the 296 needed to get the required 75 percent.
The trio will be inducted into the Cooperstown Hall on July 27 alongside Dave Parker and Dick Allen, elected last month by the Classic Era Committee.
Mariano Rivera remained the only player to receive 100% of the BBWAA vote, appearing on all 425 ballots in 2019. Derek Jeter was chosen on 395 of 396 in 2020.
Carlos Beltrán lost 19 votes with 277 votes and was followed by Andruw Jones with 261.
Suzuki arrived in Japan in Major League Baseball at the age of 27 in 2001 and joined Fred Lynn in 1975 as the only players to win AL Rookie of the Year and AL MVP during the same season. He was a two-time AL batting champion and 10-time All-Star and Gold Glove outfielder, hitting .311 with 117 home runs, 780 RBIs and 509 stolen bases with Seattle (2001-12, 2018-19), the Yankees from New York. (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 of 262 in 2004. His combined total of 4,367 exceeds the record of Pete Rose in MLB of 4,256.
Sabathia was a six-time All-Star, 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 lefties behind Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton, for 19 seasons with Cleveland (2001-08), Milwaukee (2008) and the New York Yankees (2009-19).
Wagner received 284 votes and 73.8% on the 2024 ballot, five votes fewer, when third baseman Adrian Beltré, catcher/first baseman Joe Mauer and first baseman Todd Helton were elected. elected. In his 10th and final election, Wagner received 10.5% support in his first appearance in 2016.
Wagner became the Hall’s ninth pitcher who was primarily a reliever after Hoyt Wilhelm, Rollie Fingers, Dennis Eckersley, Bruce Sutter, Goose Gossage, Trevor Hoffman, Lee Smith and Rivera.
A seven-time All-Star, Wagner was 47-40 with a 2.31 ERA and 422 saves for Houston (1995-2003), Philadelphia (2004-05), the New York Mets (2006-09), Boston (2009) and Atlanta (2010). His 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings are the most among pitchers with at least 900 innings.
Beltrán received 46.5% in 2023 in his first round of voting and 57.1% last year. A nine-time All-Star, he had a .279 batting average, 435 home runs, 1,587 RBIs and 312 stolen bases for Kansas City (1998-2004), Houston (2004, ’17), the Mets (2005-11 ). , San Francisco (2011), St. Louis (2012-13), the Yankees (2014-16) and Texas (2016).
He was hired as manager of the Mets on November 1, 2019, then was fired the following January 16 without having managed a game, three days after being the only Astros player mentioned by name in an MLB report regarding illicit use of electronics to steal signs during Houston’s run to the 2017 World Series title.
Jones was up 61.6% last year and 7.3% in his first appearance in 2018.
Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramírez lag behind in the vote, hurt by suspensions for performance-enhancing drugs. Rodriguez received 34.8% last year in his third appearance and Ramírez received 32.5% in his ninth.
Players joining the ballot in 2026 include Cole Hamels, Ryan Braun and Matt Kemp.
