LOS ANGELES, CA — It’s Hall of Fame election time again, fans. The Baseball Writers Association of America, which elects players to the Hall of Fame, states its mission is to “Preserve the sport’s history, honor excellence within the game, and connect the generations of people who enjoy baseball.” Most of the time, they get it right, and other times, they leave us scratching our heads.
Ichiro Suzuki, a global baseball icon and Japanese legend is on the Cooperstown Baseball HOF 2025 Voting Ballot – Image Credit: MLB
This year is a no-brainer for these guys on the ballot, Ichiro Suzuki and CC Sabathia, two outstanding players both on and off the field. Suzuki will become the first Japanese-born player inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame and possibly the second to be voted in unanimously. Mariano Rivera of Panama City, Panama, a former LatinoMVP award winner, was the first player to be unanimously elected to the Hall of Fame in 2019, receiving 100% of the votes on 425 ballots.
Mariano Rivera holds Panama flag during his Cooperstown Hall of Fame induction ceremony in July of 2019 – Image Credit: George Napolitano/Latino Sports
Suzuki’s career resume includes:
-3,089 hits in 19 MLB seasons
-4,367 total hits across MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), the most in modern history
-10-time MLB All-Star
-2004 AL Rookie of the Year and MVP
-2007 All-Star Game MVP Award
-10 Gold Glove Awards
Sabathia was drafted out of high school as a seventeen-year-old by the Cleveland Indians, the 20th pick in the first round, and debuted in the big leagues as a twenty-year-old three years later. He went 17-5 as a rookie and was second in the Rookie of the Year voting that year to Ichiro. So, it is fitting that they will probably go into the Hall of Fame numbers one and two this year.
CC Sabathia during his final season of his career in 2019 at Yankee Stadium – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
In 2007, he won the American League Cy Young Award when he finished with a record of 19-7 with an ERA of 3.21. He led the Major Leagues that year with 241 innings pitched and batters faced with 975. He topped that the following season when he faced 1023 batters. He was a dominating pitcher his entire 19-year career.
Among others on the ballot are Valencia, Venezuela’s Félix Hernández, “King Felix,” the 2010 CY Young winner who threw the 23rd perfect game in AL/NL history two years later, and 2008 MVP Dustin Pedroia, and infielder Ian Kinsler.
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