Suzuki Ichiro has finally entered the Hall of Fame (HOF).
The BBWAA (National Baseball Journalists Association) started voting for the 2025 HOF on the 19th (Korea time). The newly nominated players are Dustin Pedroia, Felix Hernandez, Carlos Gonzalez, Curtis Granderson, Adam Jones, Ian Kinsler, Russell Martin, Brian McCann, Hanley Ramirez, Fernando Rodney, Troy Tulowitzki, and Ben Zobrist.
Among them, Ichiro and Sabathia are certain to be inducted.
Ichiro boasted the best offense and defense in the Major League at that time. Since his Major League debut with the Seattle Mariners in 2001, he had 3,089 hits, 509 steals, 1420 runs, and an OPS of 0.757 for 19 seasons until he retired from Seattle in 2019. He has the most hits and highest batting average from Asia.
From 2001 to 2010, he built an unprecedented gold medal of .300, 200 hits, Gold Glove, and All-Star selection for 10 consecutive years, and became the AL Rookie of the Year and MVP at the same time during his debut season. He is regarded as the most perfect contact heater and leadoff man in history. He did not make controversial remarks both inside and outside the stadium, and even after taking off his uniform, he showed his presence in the baseball community by traveling between the U.S. and Japan.
Ichiro’s only concern is whether he will get a unanimous vote. Mariano Rivera is the only player who has received 100% of the vote in the previous HOF vote. In 2019, his first year of eligibility, he received a “yes vote” from all 425 BBWAA voting groups. A native of Panama, Rivera has played for 19 years with only one Yankees team, making a total of 652 saves, ranking No. 1 in the category all-time.
Derek Jeter, dubbed the Yankees’ “Forever Captain,” ran for office the following year and was expected to have a unanimous inductee for two consecutive years, but only one out of 397 people did not choose him, which made headlines. To this day, there is no known reporter who opposed Jeter. BBWAA has been disclosing the current status of the HOF vote since the late 2010s, except for unwanted reporters. Of the 397 reporters who participated in the vote at the time Jeter was inducted, 82 were reluctant to disclose the results of the vote.
Jeter later said, “I think the same responsibility should be given to not only athletes but also to media members. I don’t care who didn’t vote for 토토사이트. What’s really not, but what’s annoying is that I have to answer that question constantly,” adding, “But I don’t think I should answer that question. Even if it’s right for anyone to answer that question, it doesn’t matter to me, but I’m tired of being asked that question.”
It was not appropriate to express your opinion on the reporter, so please do not ask any more about the reason or feelings.
Of course, no one doubts Ichiro’s entry into the HOF, but like Jeter, voting is another situation. There may be many reporters with different ideas and opinions among the 400 or so voting groups.
Coincidentally, Sabathia also made her debut in 2001 and retired in 2019. She recorded 251 wins and 161 losses with a 3.74 ERA and 3093 strikeouts. In 2007, she won the AL Cy Young Award and was named the sixth All-Star in total. Leading the way for the Yankees to win the last World Series in 2009, she is one of 15 players with both 250 wins and 3,000 strikeouts in history.
Among the current candidates, left-hander Billy Wagner is highly likely to win the title. This is the last chance for him this year, and as he was eliminated last year with 73.8 percent of the vote, he is expected to surpass 75 percent this time. Wagner, who dominated the era by spraying 100-mile fastballs, has 422 saves and an ERA of 2.31.
A reporter who participates in the HOF is a veteran with more than 10 years of major league coverage, and a player who is nominated must win at least 75 percent of the vote to be eligible for the HOF. The candidate status will be maintained for 10 years, but if the candidate gets less than 5 percent of the vote, he or she will be eliminated immediately.
The voting will be held until the end of this year and the results will be announced on January 22 next year. The induction ceremony will be held on July 28 next year in Cooperstown, New York.