Breaking News: Ichiro Suzuki, C.C. Sabathia, and Billy Wagner are all now officially set to become Hall of Famers! More inside...
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Quick Thoughts:
Just like last year, the writers* got this ballot right again. All three of these players are worthy of being in the baseball Hall of Fame.
Additionally, it's very interesting seeing how strict the writers are when it comes to voting. There is a clear and obvious divide between the necessary bar for induction via the BBWAA and the veterans committees.
That being said, the upcoming talent pool and the holdovers who are staying on the ballot will lead to some very interesting discussions and votes over the next two years. As I wrote last week, I can see the Hall of Fame voting quickly changing to lower their standards.
This is the second year in a row that two newcomers to the Hall of Fame ballot- Ichiro Suzuki and C.C. Sabathia- have received enough votes for induction. (In 2024 the duo was Adrian Beltre and Joe Mauer.)
This is also the second year in a row that three players have been inducted via the voting system, with Billy Wagner joining the first-timers. (Last year also included Todd Helton.)
This is the first year since 2019 that features multiple players who spent time in their careers wearing the Yankee pinstripes. (In 2019 the duo was Mariano Rivera and Mike Mussina.)
I believe this is also the first time in voting history that all of the players voted into the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA- when more than one player was elected via the ballot- had spent time on either New York Yankees, or the New York Mets, or both.
Note: The 1974 class featured Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford, who were both voted in by the BBWAA, and is the only class where all the players voted in were Yankees. (Other players were inducted via veterans committee.)
*All the writers except for the one person who did not vote for Ichiro Suzuki.
Other Quick Notes:
Ichiro Suzuki was not a unanimous choice. He missed that honor by one vote. This is the second time this has happened (it also happened to Derek Jeter). The BBWAA still allows anonymity when voting. That should end, now. The voter who did not vote for Ichiro should reveal themselves and not hide in cowardice.
This same sentiment holds true for Derek Jeter and the three voters who didn't vote for Ken Griffey Jr.
CC Sabathia is in. That's a good thing. He deserved it. 86.8% of the vote too, which is great to see.
Billy Wagner got a big jump to 82.5% after just barely missing election last year. Good for him.
Carlos Beltran ended up at 70.3% of the vote. He'll get in next year.
Andruw Jones finished at 66.2% of the vote. He has just 2 years left. A 9% jump will be difficult, but it's not impossible. (Especially with a generally weak class coming next year.)
Nobody else received close to 50%+ of the vote.
Chae Ultey (39.8%), Alex Rodriguez (37.1%), and Manny Ramirez (34.3%) all fell in the 35-40% range. Utley is on a good trajectory, and he has already passed A-Rod. I'd expect him to run close to 50% next year. A-Rod and Manny won't get in on the ballot.
Andy Pettitte (27.9%) and Felix Hernandez (20.6%) ended up close to each other. This was Pettitte's last shot to make a big jump in his final 3 years. My prediction is that he won't get in on the ballot either. That's a shame. Felix Hernandez could, but I won't hedge any bets on it this soon.
Abreu, Rollins, Vizquel, Pedroia, Buehrle, and K-Rod all had between 10-20% of the vote, in descending order. Abreu and Buehrle are showing that the SABRmetric crowd is loud and vocal online, but the support does not translate into the BBWAA.
David Wright finished with 8.1%. That's also a shame. He should've done better too.
Torii Hunter survived to stay on for a 6th year at 5.1%. Wow.
