Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday (January 21), ESPN reports.

Suzuki, widely regarded as one of the greatest pure hitters in baseball history, was one vote shy of being elected unanimously by the Baseball Writers' Association of America with 99.746% of the vote, becoming the first Japanese-born player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The former outfielder is second all-time behind only Derek Jeter (99.748%) for highest plurality for a position player in Hall of Fame voting, with Yankees closer Mariano Rivera remaining the only unanimous selection ever, according to the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

"I don't think anybody in this whole world thought that I'd be a Hall of Famer," Suzuki said via ESPN. "As a baseball player, this is the highest honor you can achieve."

Sabathia received 342 votes equaling a 86.8% percentage while Wagner was elected with 325 votes and an 82.5% percentage. Carols Beltrán received the highest percentage of players under the necessary 75% threshold at 70.3%, followed by Andruw Jones at 66.2%.

Suzuki recorded 3,089 career hits during his 19 MLB seasons, which included 2,542 as a member of the Seattle Mariners from 2001 to 2011 and his final two seasons in 2018 and 2019, having also played for the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins for multiple seasons. The Japanese hitter had previously recorded 1,278 hits playing in the Nippon Professional Baseball League in his home country, which totals 4,367, more hits than late MLB all-time leader Pete Rose.

Sabathia went 251-161 with an ERA of 3.74 during his career with the then-Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers and Yankees, which included leading New York to its 27th and most recent World Series victory during his first season with the franchise. Wagner went 47-40 with a 2.31 ERA and 422 saves, which ranks eighth all-time, during stints with the Houston Astros, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox.

Ed Lambert