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

SEATTLE -- For Ichiro Suzuki, whose baseball career defied convention and shattered records, his induction into the Hall of Fame has long felt less like a crowning achievement and more like an inevitable conclusion to one of the sport’s most remarkable journeys. Indeed, Suzuki is officially headed to Cooperstown. Suzuki’s

CC Sabathia remembers being awed by his first visit to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y., saying he still gets goosebumps when he thinks about those hours wandering through the plaque gallery several years ago. “That was the first time I really, really thought about

HOUSTON -- Billy Wagner, a flame-throwing left-hander who was one of the elite strikeout artists of his generation, will take his place among the game’s greatest players of all time after being elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his 10th and final year on the ballot –

Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner reached the necessary 75% support on the Baseball Writers' Association of America Hall of Fame ballot in results revealed Tuesday night on MLB Network. Suzuki and Sabathia were on the ballot for the first time, while Wagner made it in his 10th and

Editor's note: Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner will join Dave Parker and Dick Allen in the 2025 Hall of Fame class after they were elected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America in results announced Jan. 21.

It takes 75% of the vote for the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) to elect a player to the Hall of Fame, so you might think that a candidate debuting far from that three-quarters mark would signal doom for his chances. Historically, that has mostly been true. But not

The Hall of Fame introduced the newest members of its Class of 2025 -- Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner -- live from Cooperstown on Thursday. The trio all donned matching Hall of Fame jerseys and caps and shared their thoughts on being elected to the Hall.

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This story was excerpted from Christina De Nicola’s Marlins Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Of the 28 players on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s 2025 Hall of Fame ballot, three heard their names called when the results were announced Tuesday on MLB Network: Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner. That trio also represents the differing paths Hall of Famers take to Cooperstown.

The 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame class is absolutely stacked. On Tuesday night, the Baseball Writers' Association of America voted in three new members to Cooperstown: Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner. Or, in other words, one of the sport's greatest hitters, one of its most reliable starting pitchers

Before being voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday evening, CC Sabathia was already part of an exclusive club called the "Black Aces" -- 15 African American pitchers who had the distinction of winning 20 or more games in a Major League Baseball season. Sabathia reached that magic

SEATTLE -- Throughout Ichiro Suzuki’s Major League career, the now-Hall of Fame outfielder cloaked himself in an aura of mysticism. Ichiro acted like he knew something everyone else didn’t, from the psychedelic, haute-couture street fashions he wore in and out of Safeco Field to the oft-cryptic platitudes he’d dispense through

The National Baseball Hall of Fame welcomed three more members into its hallowed halls Tuesday night as Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner were elected to Cooperstown by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Ichiro, the first Japanese-born player voted into the Hall, was a near-unanimous selection as he

CLEVELAND -- Maybe the baseball world remembers him in pinstripes more than a Cleveland uniform, but CC Sabathia knows this moment wouldn’t have been possible without his original organization. On Tuesday night, Sabathia’s phone rang, informing him that he had been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The

The National Baseball Hall of Fame has three new members: Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner. With players this accomplished and an institution so steeped in history, there are plenty of fun facts to dig through about the newest Hall of Fame class. Here’s a look at 11 of

Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner are set to be enshrined among the legends of the game in Cooperstown, N.Y., as their election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame was announced Tuesday on MLB Network. The Baseball Writers' Association of America ballot featured eight players who had previously

NEW YORK -- Billy Wagner may have been an Astro and a Phillie at least as much as he was a Met, but that doesn’t erase the fact that he was, indeed, a Met. Wagner was an important one, too, spending three-plus years as the closer in Queens following stints

PHILADELPHIA -- Phillies legends Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins hope to follow Billy Wagner’s path to Cooperstown, N.Y. The former Phillies closer learned on Tuesday night that he has been voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, in his 10th and final year of eligibility, by the Baseball Writers'

MILWAUKEE -- The record books reflect that the best in-season trade in Brewers history happened on July 7, 2008. But thanks to an inside man, CC Sabathia saw it coming. “Dave Riske, one of my lifetime friends,” Sabathia said with a laugh. “Riske called me from Milwaukee and said, ‘Hey,

King Félix will have to wait for his potential crowning ceremony, but Tuesday night’s announcement was a solid debut for the former Mariners ace’s chances for enshrinement into the Baseball Hall of Fame. In his debut season on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot, Félix Hernández was named by

KANSAS CITY -- Carlos Beltrán is knocking at the door of Cooperstown. A steady increase in votes for the National Baseball Hall of Fame has the former Royal and longtime center fielder as close as ever to being elected in the coming year or two. He garnered 277 votes out

Ichiro Suzuki was a near-unanimous selection for the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday night. That was no surprise. What was a surprise -- at least to Ichiro himself -- was when a fellow Mariners legend and inner-circle Hall of Famer interrupted Ichiro’s interview on MLB Network to congratulate the

A Hall of Fame is, almost by definition, a ranking of the best players to ever play the sport. We know from past research that something like the top 1-2% of players who reach the Majors get into the Hall of Fame, but what if we went a step further