Dick Allen and Dave Parker were the first two elected to the Hall of Fame in Dec. 2024. Three more former Major League Baseball players were just elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Carston Charles “CC” Sabathia, Ichiro Suzuki, and William “Billy” Wagner are the 2025 inductees, and scheduled to be celebrated on July 27 in Cooperstown, New York.
CC Sabathia
Former New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time this year and received 86.8 percent of the votes.
In 1998 Sabathia was drafted in the first round by the Cleveland Guardians. He played in the majors with them from 2001 to 2008, until he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers mid-season and finished the 2008 season with them. In December of that year, Sabathia signed with the Yankees. He then spent the rest of his career in New York until he retired in 2019
Sabathia left the league with a 3.75 earned run average and 3,093 thrown strikeouts. Players had a .207 batting average while facing him. Sabathia is a six-time All-Star and won the American League Cy Young Award in 2007. In 2009, he was on the Yankees World Series team.
Ichiro Suzuki
Right fielder, Ichiro Suzuki, was almost unanimously elected for the Hall of Fame, though just one vote short. With Suzuki’s election, he is the first Asian-born MLB player in the Hall of Fame.
Suzuki made his MLB debut in 2001 with the Seattle Mariners and stayed with them until 2012. During the 2012 season, he was traded to the Yankees, where he remained over the next two seasons. Suzuki then played for the Miami Marlins for three seasons until he returned to the Mariners for his last two seasons and retired from the league in 2019.
He has a career batting average of .311 and an on-base plus slugging percentage of .757.
During Suzuki’s first year in the league, he won Rookie of the Year along with the American League’s Most Valuable Player, Gold Glove, and Silver Slugger awards. He then went on to win nine more Gold Gloves and two more Silver Slugger awards. Suzuki is also a 20-time American League All-Star.
Billy Wagner
Billy Wagner is the ninth relief pitcher to be elected to the Hall of Fame. Wagner received 82.5 percent of ballot votes.
In 1993, Wagner was drafted in the first round by the Houston Astros. He then made his debut in 1995 and stayed with them until 2003. From 2004 to 2009, Wagner spent time with the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, and the Boston Red Sox, respectively. In 2010, Wagner ended his career with the Atlanta Braves.
Wagner had a career earned run average of 2.31 and threw 1,196 strikeouts. In 1996, he won the Astros’ Pitcher of the Year award and won the National League Rolaids Relief Man Award in 1999. He is also a six-time All-Star.
Edited by Brittany Snow
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