Ken Griffey Jr. played on the same Seattle team as Ichiro in 2009 and 2010, near the end of Junior's playing career.
In Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner, the Baseball Writers Association delivered quite an eclectic trifecta to Cooperstown on Tuesday. The first Japanese player ever elected to the Hall of Fame,
Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, and Billy Wagner have been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The players and then the public learned the results of the 2025 vote by the Baseball Writers Association of America on Tuesday.
The elite echelon of Seattle Mariners players grew larger on Jan. 21 when it was announced that Ichiro Suzuki would be one of three 2025 National Base
Baseball Hall of Fame class will include five players. Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner will join Dick Allen and Dave Parker in Cooperstown this summer, the BB
Ichiro wasn't unanimous and Billy Wagner probably got in later than he should have, but all three are deserving of their place in Cooperstown.
The bad news is that Andruw Jones will have to wait at least one more year. The good news is that he is on a path similar to the one traveled by former Braves closer Billy Wagner, one of the baseball’s new Hall of Famers.
The Mariners will retire Ichiro's iconic number 51 amid his Baseball Hall of Fame induction during the 2025 season.
No, Suzuki in 2025 was one vote shy of being a unanimous Baseball Hall of Famer, joining 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.
Ichiro Suzuki could become the first Japanese player in baseball’s Hall of Fame, and CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner and Carlos Beltrán also could be elected when results of the writers’ voting are announced.
Ichiro Suzuki is the first Japanese-born player voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He'll be joined by CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner in the Class of 2025.
This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman’s Braves Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.