Suzuki, Sabathia, Wagner, Allen and Parker join Baseball Hall of Fame

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With the playing of Super Bowl LIX just days away, it is time to start focusing attention on America’s pastime — baseball. Football may have passed baseball as the number one viewing sport in this country, but it cannot overtake the grand old game in historical longevity, complexity and the majestic quality of its greatest stars.

Each year, new inductees grace the hallowed halls of the Baseball Hall of Fame in the village of Cooperstown, New York.  The Class of 2025 inductees, Ichiro Suzuki, C.C. Sabathia, Billy Wagner, Dick Allen and Dave Parker, will be officially enshrined on July 27, thus joining the all-time greats who played the game with the cylindrical bat and small ball.

Going down this lineup, we start with the name of Ichiro Suzuki, one of the greatest leadoff hitters and all-around players in baseball. Before his 19-year playing career in American baseball with the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees and Miami Marlins, Ichiro was a legend in Japanese baseball. There were questions about his unorthodox hitting style, diving and lunging at pitches, and whether it would work against Major League pitching. The man quickly put such talk to rest, winning the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year and American League Most Valuable Player Awards in his first year against Major League Baseball pitching.

Ichiro Suzuki received 99.7% of the votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America. PHOTO: Jeffrey Hayes

This feat was accomplished by only one other player, Fred Lynn of the 1975 Red Sox. Suzuki would compile the staggering statistics of 10 straight 200 plus hit seasons, including a record 262 in 2004, a .311 career batting average with a total of 3,089 hits, 509 stolen bases, 10 straight All-Star appearances, and 10 straight Gold Glove Awards for defensive excellence. 

Compiling his hits from Japan with those in Major League Baseball, Ichiro amassed 4,367 hits in 28 professional seasons, far outdistancing Pete Rose’s 4,256 career hits. Of the 394 ballots cast, with 296 votes needed for election, Ichiro received 99.7% of the votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America and other eligible voters, 393 of 394 votes, one vote shy of unanimous selection in his first year of eligibility. This raises the question: What voter did not vote for him and why? 

One interesting side note worth mentioning is that Ichiro does speak English and did during many years of his MLB career but just chose to use an interpreter.  He is expected to speak English during his induction speech.

Carsten Charles Sabathia, the 6’6”, 300 plus pound dominant left-handed pitcher, who won 251 games during his 19-year Major League Baseball career, joined Ichiro as a first ballot inductee, receiving 342 of a possible 394 votes or 86.8%.

Sabathia’s story is one of inner strength and determination. He battled alcohol addiction for many years of his playing career but still found a way to do his job. Having had a total of 3,093 total career strikeouts, Sabathia is one of only three left-handed pitchers in MLB history to strike out over 3,000 batters. The other two are Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton.

Sabathia pitched the New York Yankees to their last World Series title in 2009. He is a sensitive man, who once told this reporter, “My greatest battle was with alcohol and its effect on my life and family on and off the playing field — not Major League Baseball hitters.” His 251-career win total with a 3.74 earned run average against 161 losses makes him one of only six pitchers with at least 250 victories, a .600 winning percentage and 3,000 strikeouts.

Billy Wagner, the fire balling left-handed relief ace with 422 career saves to his credit, was one of the best closers of his time during his 16 years of work.  He spent most of his time with the Houston Astros. 

Wagner’s story of one of incredible courage and conviction. At 5’9”, he had to battle the “too small” label throughout his minor league baseball career. But one thing was undeniable: His magnificent fastball clocked in the high 90s, and he was able to perform in the high-stress tension moments of being a closer.  After being struck in the face by a ball off the bat of the Diamondback’s Kelly Stinnett in 1998, many thought that Wagner’s career was over. He came back to finish off a Hall of Fame career, receiving 325 votes or 82.5% of the ballots cast in his 10th and final year of eligibility.

Dick Allen and Dave Parker were inducted by various groups of Hall of Fame members and others charged with the induction of players not voted in by the BBWAA, as well as Negro League players and non-playing personnel, including managers, owners and executives. To be enshrined, players must be named on at least 75% of the committee members ballots.

Allen, a career .292 hitter with 351 home runs and 1,119 runs batted in during his 15 years in the majors, was considered one of the top power hitters of his era.

Parker, the National League Most Valuable Player in 1978, compiled a .290 lifetime batting average with 339 home runs and 1,493 runs batted in during his 19-year MLB career. A Gold Glove performer in right field with one of the best throwing arms in MLB history, Parker was a member of the World Series championship teams in Pittsburgh in 1979 and Oakland in 1988.

Many speculate that Parker was not inducted into the Hall of Fame during his years of eligibility because of his being named in the famous cocaine trials that rocked Major League Baseball in the late 1970s and early ’80s.  He has now received his long-denied recognition for his work on the baseball diamond.

Congratulations to Ichiro Suzuki, C.C. Sabathia, Billy Wagner, Dick Allen and Dave Parker, each a worthy recipient of Major League Baseball’s highest individual honor.