Suzuki, Sabathia Among New Candidates For Baseball Hall Of Fame Class of 2025

NYSJ Sports-Entertainment Business News Service

November 18, 2024: The National Baseball Hall Of Fame today unveiled the candidates for its Class of ’25.

Debuting on the BBWAA ballot in 2025 are Carlos González, Curtis Granderson, Félix Hernández, Adam Jones, Ian Kinsler, Russell Martin, Brian McCann, Dustin Pedroia, Hanley Ramírez, Fernando Rodney, CC Sabathia, Ichiro Suzuki, Troy Tulowitzki and Ben Zobrist.

Fourteen former players are returning to the 2025 BBWAA ballot after receiving at least 5% of the overall vote in 2024.

The Class of ’25 will be named Jan. 21 (MLB Network).

Any candidate who receives votes on 75% of all BBWAA ballots cast will earn election to the Hall of Fame and be part of Induction Weekend July 25-28, 2025, in Cooperstown, N.Y., along with any electees who emerge from the Classic Baseball Era Committee voting process.

Billy Wagner received votes on 73.8% of all ballots cast in 2024 — the most of any returnee.

Wagner is on the ballot for the 1tenth-and-final time in 2025.

Andruw Jones (61.6%) and Carlos Beltrán (57.1%) are the only other candidates who received at least 50 percent of the BBWAA vote in 2024.

Seven players and one manager comprise the eight-name Classic Baseball Era Committee ballot, which features player, manager, umpire and executive candidates whose primary contribution to the game came prior to 1980.

The Classic Baseball Era ballot includes Dick Allen, Ken Boyer, John Donaldson, Steve Garvey, Vic Harris, Tommy John, Dave Parker and Luis Tiant. Among the candidates, Garvey, John and Parker are still alive.

The results of the Classic Baseball Era Committee vote will be named live on MLB Network’s “MLB Tonight”  Dec. 8.

Suzuki joined MLB in 2001 with the Seattle Mariners as the first position player from Japan.

Photo: Baseball Hall of FameHe went on to win both the American League MVP and Rookie of the Year Awards in the same season, a feat accomplished by only one other player, Fred Lynn of the Boston Red Sox in 1975.

Over a 19-season career — which included time with the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins — Suzuki had 3,089 hits in becoming the first player with ten consecutive seasons of 200-plus hits.

That included a record 262 in 2004, when he won his second batting title at .372. His first came in his rookie year when he hit .350 with 242 hits and 56 of his career 509 stolen bases.

Among other honors, Suzuki earned ten consecutive Gold Glove Awards for fielding, three Silver Slugger Awards for batting and ten  All-Star Game selections, including nine starts.

He was the All-Star Game MVP in 2007, played in San Francisco.

Ichiro led the AL in games played four times, at-bats eight times, hits seven times, singles 10 times and intentional walks three times. Defensively, he led AL right fielders in putouts seven times, fielding percentage four times (once as a center fielder) and assists twice as a right fielder.

Including his totals with the Orix Blue Wave in Japan’s Pacific League, Ichiro amassed 4,367 career hits over 28 seasons.

Sabathia began his 19-season career in Cleveland as the runner-up to Suzuki for the AL Rookie of the Year Award in 2001.

He went on to post a 251-161 record with a 3.74 ERA and 3,093 strikeouts — 18th all-time and third among left-handers behind Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton.

Sabathia won the AL Cy Young Award in 2007. He anchored the Yankees’ staff (19-8) en route to a World Series title and was the 2009 AL Championship Series MVP (2-0, 1.13 ERA). In 2010 he was 21-7 and in 2011 19-8.

Sabathia is one of only six pitchers in history with at least 250 victories, a .600 winning percentage and 3,000 strikeouts.

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