Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner sign their future plaques that will hang at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown

The results are in! Our experts break down the highs and lows of the 2025 vote that made Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner Hall of Famers.

In electing Wagner, the BBWAA has defined the modern-day closer as its own entity, with candidates’ credentials measured not against the whole of the body but against this specific peer group.

The Cooperstown candidacies of Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones might benefit by the lack of slam-dunk newcomers to the 2026 Hall of Fame ballot.

Ichiro Suzuki is the first Japanese-born player voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He'll be joined by CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner in the Class of 2025.

Year-by-year inductees to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame: BBWAA: Elected by the Baseball Writers Association of America; TGE: Today’s Game Era (1998-present) committee; VC: Elected by the Veterans Committee;

Ichiro Suzuki is unquestionably one of the best baseball players ever to grace this planet. His 3,089 hits compiled throughout his career ranks as 25th on Major League Baseball's all-time list. He was a 10-time All-Star and a 10-time Gold Glove winner through his 19-year career.

The Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2025 was revealed on Tuesday, with three players being enshrined. Leading the way is Japanese sensation Ichiro Suzuki, who was an easy admission in just his first year on the ballot.

Beloved in Japan and in the US, Ichiro Suzuki now has a permanent home in Cooperstown, New York. Suzuki, 51, cements himself in baseball lore, becoming the first Japanese player to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.