By The Associated Press’ Ronald Blum
NEW YORK Along with Billy Wagner and CC Sabathia, Ichiro Suzuki was elected Tuesday, just one vote short of being the first Japanese player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
According to the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, Suzuki won 393 out of 394 votes. Wagner and Sabathia received 325 and 342 ballots, respectively, 29 more than the 296 required for the necessary 75%.
When Suzuki and Sabathia initially appeared on the ballot, they were elected. On his tenth and last attempt, Wagner succeeded.
Together with Dave Parker and Dick Allen, who were elected last month by the committee for the classic era, the three will be inducted into the Hall at Cooperstown on July 27.
Mariano Rivera, who was listed on all 425 ballots in 2019, was the only player to receive a perfect score from the BBWAA. In 2020, Derek Jeter was selected on 395 out of 396.
After gaining 57.1% the previous year and 46.5% in 2023 during his first ballot appearance, Carlos Beltrán was 19 votes short at 70.3%. Andruw Jones behind him with 261 for 66.2%, up from 7.3% when he first debuted in 2018 and 61.6% the previous year.
Suzuki joined Fred Lynn in 1975 as the only players to win both MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season after arriving in Major League Baseball from Japan at the age of 27 in 2001. With Seattle (2001–12, 2018–19), the New York Yankees (2012–14), and Miami (2015–17), he hit.311 with 117 home runs, 780 RBIs, and 509 stolen bases. He was a two-time AL batting champion and a ten-time All-Star and Gold Glove outfielder.
With 1,278 hits in Nippon Professional Baseball and 3,089 in Major League Baseball, including a season-high 262 in 2004, he is arguably the greatest contact hitter of all time. Pete Rose’s MLB record of 4,256 is surpassed by his total of 4,367.
The 2007 AL Cy Young Award winner and 2009 World Series champion Sabathia was a six-time All-Star. He spent 19 seasons with Cleveland (2001–08), Milwaukee (2008), and the New York Yankees (2009–19), going 251–161 with a 3.74 ERA and 3,093 strikeouts, ranking third among left-handers behind Steve Carlton and Randy Johnson.
FILE – During a baseball game in Houston on June 8, 2003, Houston Astros closer Billy Wagner throws a pitch to a Tampa Bay Devil Rays batter. (File: Brett Coomer/AP Photo)AP
In the 2024 balloting, Wagner garnered 284 votes and 73.8%, five votes short of the election of first baseman Todd Helton, catcher/first baseman Joe Mauer, and third baseman Adrian Beltr. When Wagner made his first appearance in 2016, he only got 10.5% of the vote.
After Hoyt Wilhelm, Rollie Fingers, Dennis Eckersley, Bruce Sutter, Goose Gossage, Trevor Hoffman, Lee Smith, and Rivera, he was the first left-hander and the eighth pitcher in the Hall of Fame to be predominantly a reliever.
Wagner, a seven-time All-Star, pitched 47-40 with a 2.31 ERA with 422 saves for the New York Mets (2006-09), Boston (2009), Atlanta (2010), Houston (1995-2003), and Philadelphia (2004-05). His 903 career innings are the fewest among Hall of Famers, but he has the most strikeouts (11.9 per nine innings) of any pitcher with at least 900 innings.
With 157 votes, Chase Utley finished sixth with 39.8%, up from 28.8% in his debut.
Due to their suspensions for using performance-enhancing drugs, Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramrez have fallen behind in the voting. Ram rez received 34.3% in his tenth appearance, up from 32.5%, while Rodriguez received 37.1% in his fourth appearance, up from 34.8%.
In his sixth appearance, Andy Pettitte received 110 votes and 27.9%, which is double the 13.5% he received the previous year. In his first ballot, Flix Hernndez received 81 votes, or 20.6% of the total.
62 of the 351 chosen Hall of Famers, including 142 on the BBWAA ballot, were elected in their first year of eligibility, and 278 of them are players.
FILE: On Wednesday, October 28, 2009, in New York, CC Sabathia of the New York Yankees pitches in the first inning of Game 1 of the Major League Baseball World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. (File: David J. Phillip/AP Photo)AP
After earning fewer than 5% of the vote, Carlos González, Curtis Granderson, Adam Jones, Ian Kinsler, Russell Martin, Brian McCann, Hanley Ram rez, Fernando Rodney, Troy Tulowitzki, and Ben Zobrist would no longer be included on subsequent ballots.
Next year, Cole Hamels, Ryan Braun, and Matt Kemp will be on the ballot.
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