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 were voted in by the Baseball Writers¡¯ Association of America in ballot results revealed Tuesday night on MLB Network. They join Classic Baseball Era Committee electees Dave Parker and the late Dick Allen in an induction ceremony to be held on July 27 at the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown, N.Y.

This was a ballot with international significance, as Ichiro, on his first BBWAA ballot, became the first Asian-born player selected for the Hall. He nearly became the first position player elected unanimously, falling ¨C as one-time teammate Derek Jeter had in 2020 ¨C just one vote shy of that historic standing. Closer Mariano Rivera, a 2019 inductee, remains the only player elected unanimously in the long history of the BBWAA process.

¡°There was a time I didn¡¯t even know if I¡¯d get the chance to play in MLB,¡± Suzuki said through an interpreter. ¡°So what an honor it is for me to be here and to be a Hall of Famer. It¡¯s a special day.¡±

Sabathia was also a first-ballot selection, garnering 86.8%.

¡°It means everything to me. Just even to go in the Hall of Fame, in general, is a big honor," he said. "But to go in first ballot, I know what that means as a baseball player. It¡¯s super exciting.¡±

Wagner gained entry on his 10th and final writers¡¯ ballot with 82.5% support.

¡°I don¡¯t even know how to express it,¡± Wagner said. ¡°When I think about what I represent, from Division III to southwestern Virginia, it¡¯s such a blessing.¡±

Just missing the 75% cut was power-speed dynamo Carlos Beltr¨¢n, who had his name checked on 70.3% of submitted ballots in his third try. Andruw Jones, one of the great defensive center fielders of all time, was checked by 66.2% of voters on his eighth ballot. None of the other players on the 24-man ballot achieved higher than 39.8% (second baseman Chase Utley¡¯s total).

Here¡¯s a closer look at the players chosen by the BBWAA voters to enter the hallowed Hall.

ICHIRO SUZUKI (99.7% of ballots)

Put the 51-year-old Ichiro down, appropriately, as 2-for-2. Last week, he was elected in his first year of eligibility for the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame, in recognition of nine seasons with the Orix Blue Wave during which he was a three-time Pacific League MVP and seven-time batting champ. But Ichiro¡¯s monumental arrival to MLB with the Seattle Mariners in 2001 marked the beginning of him cementing himself as a baseball legend who, in his own unique style, proved a position player could cross the Pacific and not only succeed but excel against the sport¡¯s highest level of competition.

Ichiro was a speedy, slashing hit machine with a career .311 average and 509 steals in 2,653 MLB games, including all or part of 14 seasons with the Mariners, three with the Yankees and three with the Marlins. He was a 10-time All-Star and Gold Glove winner and a three-time Silver Slugger winner in right field.

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His career broke the mold. Ichiro didn¡¯t debut with the Mariners until he was 27 years, 162 days old. He was the first Japanese-born position player in MLB, and he faced his share of doubters about how his skills would translate.

¡°I don¡¯t think anybody in this whole world,¡± he said, ¡°thought that I would be a Hall of Famer.¡±

But he burst onto the big league scene by becoming just the second player ever ¨C joining Fred Lynn (1975 Red Sox) ¨C to win both Rookie of the Year and MVP in his league. His AL-best .350 average propelled the top of the order for a Mariners team that tied an MLB record with 116 wins.

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Then, in 2004, Ichiro not only won another batting title (.372) but broke George Sisler¡¯s 84-year-old record by banging out 262 hits. That was all part of a stretch of 10 straight seasons with 200-plus hits. In seven of those seasons, Ichiro¡¯s hit total was tops in MLB.

Despite the late start to his MLB tenure, Ichiro¡¯s Cooperstown case was ironclad. His career, however, is best appreciated in its totality, especially as NPB has become a steadier supplier of eventual MLB stars. Ichiro¡¯s combined 4,367 hits make him the international Hit King and, now, a worthy member of two hallowed Halls of Fame.

¡°As a baseball player this is the highest honor you could achieve,¡± he said of Tuesday¡¯s announcement. ¡°As a baseball player, this is the top of the top.¡±

CC SABATHIA (86.8%)

As the role of the starting pitcher has been diminished in the modern game, the career of a big, durable ace like Sabathia becomes all the more appreciated, as evidenced by him becoming the first pitcher to be named a first-ballot Hall of Famer since Mariano Rivera and Roy Halladay in 2019.

Though Sabathia¡¯s wins (251) and innings (3,577 1/3) totals don¡¯t match up to those of many Hall of Fame starters, the 6-foot-6, left-handed Sabathia was a true workhorse of his time. From his 2001 debut with Cleveland to his final outing for the Yankees in 2019, he compiled the most innings of any pitcher who has debuted since 1989.

¡°That was something that was important to me, was to be available and take the ball as many times as possible during the season,¡± Sabathia said. ¡°I wanted my guys in the clubhouse or in the locker room to feel like every time I went out there every fifth day that we had a chance to win.¡±

Along the way, he put up a 116 ERA+ (or 16% better than league average) and a 61.8 bWAR that ranks 10th in MLB history among left-handed starters. With 3,093 strikeouts, Sabathia is one of only 15 pitchers ¨C and one of only three southpaws ¨C with at least 3,000 K¡¯s and 250 wins.

In his peak years from 2006-12, Sabathia won an AL Cy Young (with Cleveland in 2007) and finished in the top five of the voting five times. He even finished fifth in the NL voting in 2008 despite not joining the Brewers until a July trade. Sabathia taking the ball 17 times for the Brewers, often on short rest, and pointing them toward their first playoff appearance since 1982 by posting a 1.65 ERA in 130 2/3 innings (all with a lucrative free agency on the horizon) is the stuff of recent big league legend. From there, he signed a massive contract with the Yankees, with whom he won the World Series in his first of 11 seasons in the Bronx.

A native of Vallejo, Calif., and a first-round pick by Cleveland in 1998, Sabathia reached the Majors at the age of 20 and came to be known as one of the game¡¯s most respected figures. His win total is tied with that of Bob Gibson for second-most among Black pitchers (behind Ferguson Jenkins¡¯ 284). And in his retirement years, the now-44-year-old Sabathia has continued to serve as one of the sport¡¯s most important ambassadors as a special assistant to the Commissioner.

¡°The game has meant everything to me,¡± he said. ¡°For the longest time I tried to fight being a baseball guy or a baseball family, as a family. But that¡¯s what we are. My wife is an agent. My kids play baseball. I¡¯m a baseball fan. I thought once I was done, I would never go back to the park and I would be away from the game. But I love the game, I love baseball, I love being around the guys, I love being in the [MLB] office and seeing different aspects of the game. I¡¯m grateful for that and excited to still have that job with MLB.¡±

BILLY WAGNER (82.5%)

Overshadowed on recent ballots by the only closers with 600-plus saves -- Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman -- the 53-year-old Wagner finally found relief on his final try in the BBWAA process. He becomes the ninth closer elected to the Hall.

Though undersized at 5-foot-10, Wagner made batters ¨C and the many scouts who overlooked him -- look foolish with a 100-mph heater and a hard slider. He used that combo to record the highest strikeout rate (33.2%) of any pitcher in history with at least 900 innings. Using that same minimum, Wagner¡¯s .186 opponent average ranks as the lowest in the Modern Era, and his 2.31 ERA and 0.998 WHIP are both the best for a southpaw in the Live Ball Era.

Wagner¡¯s path was incredible. As a boy, he broke his right arm, so he learned to pitch lefty. He was drafted out of Division III Ferrum College. He was a starter in the Minors but moved to the bullpen in the big leagues. Now, he¡¯s a Hall of Famer.

¡°I was the na?ve kid who was thrown into the mix,¡± he said. ¡°I had done it [relief work] in college. So they put me in that situation, and na?ve is a blessing. I loved being in the bullpen because I could pitch every day, and it also gave me a way to stay in the games. If I was a starter, I¡¯d have four days, and I don¡¯t know if I could have handled myself. I would have gone stir crazy. Being a reliever fit my personality.¡±

In 16 seasons with the Astros, Phillies, Mets, Red Sox and Braves, Wagner compiled 422 saves and 1,196 strikeouts in 903 innings. His 225 saves with Houston are a franchise record. He was a seven-time All-Star.

Because Wagner, who retired after a 2010 season in which he put up a career-best 1.43 ERA with the Braves, lacked the longevity of Rivera and Hoffman, he faced a more arduous road to Cooperstown. His career innings total is the lowest among the Hall of Fame relievers, and it took a long while for his case to gain traction among the voters. Ultimately, though, Wagner¡¯s status as the most purely dominant left-handed reliever of all time earned him enshrinement.

¡°The game has given me so much,¡± an emotional Wagner said. ¡°It¡¯s given me everything I could possibly ask. I¡¯m very grateful.¡±