Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday (January 21), ESPN reports. Suzuki, widely regarded as one of the greatest pure hitters in baseball history,

A leadoff hitter, an ace starter and a lockdown closer walk into a Hall … It’s no joke. The National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025 is complete after Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner

CC Sabathia’s anticipated election to the Baseball Hall of Fame will hopefully encourage people to think differently regarding the achievements of starting pitchers.

Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner were all elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame Tuesday. Ichiro is the first Japanese-born player elected.

In his 10th and final year on the ballot, former Astros closer Billy Wagner earned is place in Cooperstown, N.Y. in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

To this point, only famed Yankee closer Mariano Rivera has been elected to the Hall of Fame unanimously — not Babe Ruth, not Hank Aaron, not Ken Griffey Jr. nor Derek Jeter, just Rivera. Could Suzuki be the second?

Ichiro was the first Japanese position player to appear in an MLB game, and he will be the first Japanese player enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame during the induction ceremony on July 27 in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese player chosen for baseball’s Hall of Fame, falling one vote shy of unanimous when he was elected along with CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner.

Players are elected to the Hall of Fame provided they are named on at least 75% of ballots cast by eligible voting members of the BBWAA. With 394 ballots submitted in the 2025 election, candidates needed to receive 296 votes to be elected.

Whoever left Ichiro deserves all of the ire coming their way, but they’ll never get it. It’s just like the lone voter who left Derek Jeter off of their ballot five years ago. We still don’t know who did that and that’s Derek freakin’ Jeter, guys. If we’re not finding out who did it for him, then we’re certainly not finding out for Ichiro.

Ichiro Suzuki joins Derek Jeter as one vote shy of becoming the first position player to appear on all ballots. Pujols, in 2028, is likely to be next best chance.