Ichiro Suzuki missed unanimous election to the Baseball Hall of Fame by one vote Tuesday night when he headlined a three-player class selected by the 394 voting members of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, and Billy Wagner have been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The players and then the public learned the results of the 2025 vote by the Baseball Writers Association of America on Tuesday.

In a video posted on X by sports writer Jose de Jesus Ortiz, Wagner leaned against a pool table while taking the call. He listened for more than 15 seconds before he put his hand on his face, fighting tears and hunching over. “Thank you,” he eventually said to the person on the other end of the phone.

Great news for Tazewell native and former Ferrum College pitcher Billy Wagner as he cracks the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his 10th and final year on the ballot. Last year, Wagner was 5 votes away from getting into the hall.

Billy Wagner was unhittable as a pitcher and now he’s officially a baseball immortal.

Suzuki is the first Japanese player elected, falling one vote shy of unanimous. The trio will be inducted on July 27 in Cooperstown, N.Y., along with classic era committee picks Dave Parker and

Ichiro Suzuki and CC Sabathia were elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame on Tuesday night, Suzuki in overwhelming fashion, while Billy Wagner made the most of his 10th and final appearance on the ballot, clearing the 75% barrier to inclusion by earning 325 of 394 votes.

That was one of the best debut seasons ever. Ichiro was an All-Star and won a Silver Slugger and Gold Glove award in right field. He not only coasted to the Rookie of the Year award but narrowly surpassed Jason Giambi to win the MVP. He joined Fred Lynn as the only rookies to be named the Most Valuable Player.

Ichiro Suzuki wants to raise a glass with the voter who chose not to pick his name on the Hall of Fame ballot, leaving him short of being unanimous.

Ichiro Suzuki wants to raise a glass with the voter who chose not to check off his name on the Hall of Fame ballot.

Ichiro Suzuki wants to raise a glass with the voter who chose not to check off his name on the Hall of Fame ballot. “There’s one writer that I wasn’t able to get a vote from,” he said through a translator Thursday,