For two players, it was a short wait to the Hall of Fame.
For another, the wait is finally over.
Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner were all awarded the sport’s highest honor Tuesday and are headed to Cooperstown.
Ichiro is the first Japanese-born player to receive Hall of Fame honors. He received 99.7% of the vote, one vote shy of becoming the second player unanimously elected.
Players need at least 75% of the vote to be inducted.
Suzuki, who got 393 of 394 votes in balloting of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, would have joined Yankees great Mariano Rivera (2019) as the only unanimous selections. Instead, Suzuki’s 99.746% of the vote is second only to Derek Jeter‘s 99.748% (396 of 397 ballots cast in 2020) as the highest vote count for a position player in Hall of Fame voting, per the BBWAA.
Suzuki’s induction was practically guaranteed before it was even announced, and he was even polling at 100% prior to it becoming official. However, he collected 99.7% of the votes, meaning one voter did not have Suzuki on their ballot.
The Seattle Mariners legend could’ve become a rare unanimous inductee, but that will not be the case.
Suzuki, as stated earlier, was one vote shy of being a unanimous Baseball Hall of Famer, joining Derek Jeter in terms of percentage (99.7%). Jeter was inducted in 2020. The one voter who snubbed Jeter has not been revealed to this point, and it’s hard to imagine the non-voter for Ichiro being revealed anytime soon as well.
2025 Baseball Hall of Fame Voting
The top vote-getters in HOF voting for the Class of 2025. Three players reached the 75% election threshold from the 394 ballots cast. Full BBWAA vote totals.
| PLAYER | VOTES | PCT. (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Ichiro Suzuki | 393 | 99.7 |
| CC Sabathia | 342 | 86.8 |
| Billy Wagner | 325 | 82.5 |
| Carlos Beltrán | 277 | 70.3 |
| Andruw Jones | 261 | 66.2 |
| Chase Utley | 157 | 39.8 |
| Álex Rodríguez | 146 | 37.1 |
| Manny Ramírez | 135 | 34.3 |
| Andy Pettitte | 110 | 27.9 |
| Félix Hernández | 81 | 20.6 |
| Bobby Abreu | 77 | 19.5 |
| Jimmy Rollins | 71 | 18 |
| Omar Vizquel | 70 | 17.8 |
| Dustin Pedroia | 47 | 11.9 |
| Mark Buehrle | 45 | 11.4 |
| Francisco Rodríguez | 40 | 10.2 |
| David Wright | 32 | 8.1 |
| Torii Hunter | 20 | 5.1 |
Closer Billy Wagner still had to sweat it out in his 10th and final year on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, finally clearing the 75% voting threshold for enshrinement.
Wagner, who fell just five votes shy a year ago, received 82.5% of votes this time, more than enough to make the call to the Hall.
As far as Sabathia is concerned… over a 19-year career with the Cleveland Indians (2001-08), Milwaukee Brewers (2008) and New York Yankees (2009-19), Sabathia established a reputation for consistency, highlighted by 251 victories and 3,093 strikeouts. He hurled 3,577 1/3 innings across 561 Major League contests, surpassing the 200-inning threshold eight times.
He is one of just 15 pitchers in Major League history to notch at least 250 wins and 3,000 strikeouts, and he is only the third left-hander to accomplish the feat, along with Hall of Famers Steve Carlton and Randy Johnson.
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