vs. Recap --
Ichiro Suzuki narrowly missed being unanimously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday night as he was chosen by 394 members of the Baseball Writers Association of America. He will be inducted on July 27 in Cooperstown, NY along with CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner, who both received the necessary 75% of the vote. Dave Parker and the late Dick Allen, who were selected by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee, will also be enshrined in July.
The results were announced by Hall of Fame President Josh Rawitch at the museum's plaque gallery in Cooperstown. Suzuki's near miss means that Mariano Rivera remains the only unanimous electee, receiving all 425 votes in 2019. Another former Yankees player, Derek Jeter, came within one vote of unanimous election in 2020. Suzuki, Rivera, and Jeter were all teammates in New York from 2012-2013.
Sabathia (86.8%) and Wagner (82.5%) were both elected in their first and final years of eligibility, respectively. This is the second consecutive year that the BBWAA has elected three players, following last year's induction of Adrian Beltre, Todd Helton, and Joe Mauer. Suzuki and Sabathia bring the total number of first-ballot inductees to 62, with Beltre and Mauer also being elected on their first try last year. This marks the first time since 2018-2019 that there have been multiple first-ballot inductees in consecutive years.
Wagner is the fourth candidate to be elected in his final year on the ballot since the maximum eligibility was reduced from 15 to 10 years in 2015. Tim Raines, Edgar Martinez, and Larry Walker were all inducted in this manner in previous years.
Carlos Beltran, in his third year on the ballot, fell just short with 70.3% of the vote, an increase of over 13% from last year. Andruw Jones, in his eighth year of eligibility, received 66.2% of the vote, a gain of almost 5% from last year. Other notable vote increases include Chase Utley (28.8% to 39.8%) and Andy Pettitte (13.5% to 27.9%). Alex Rodriguez (37.1%) and Manny Ramirez (34.3%), both tainted by steroid use, finished between Utley and Pettitte.
Newcomers Felix Hernandez (20.6%) and Dustin Pedroia (11.9%) received enough votes to remain on the ballot for next year.
Suzuki, who is expected to be the third player to wear a Seattle Mariners hat on his plaque, had a .311 batting average, 3,089 hits, 509 stolen bases, and 10 Gold Gloves in his career. He debuted at age 27 in 2001 and won both the American League Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards for the Mariners. After 11 years in Seattle, he was traded to the New York Yankees in 2012 and later played for the Miami Marlins before ending his career with the Mariners.
Sabathia, who is expected to wear a Yankees hat on his plaque, spent his final 11 seasons in New York. He began his career with the Cleveland Indians and won the AL Cy Young Award in 2007 before being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in 2008. He finished his career with a record of 251-161, a 3.74 ERA, and 3,093 strikeouts. While his ERA is the second-highest for any pitcher elected by the writers, every Hall-eligible player with at least 250 wins and 3,000 strikeouts is enshrined except for Roger Clemens, who has been linked to steroid use.
Wagner, who had 422 saves in his career, spent time with the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, and Atlanta Braves. He posted a 2.31 ERA and averaged 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings, both of which are the best among pitchers with at least 900 innings pitched.
