Source: New York Yankees / Getty
Before spring training kicks off in the world of baseball, it’s time to see who’s headed to Cooperstown.
Sure, winning the World Series is an astounding feat, but getting inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame is another type of greatness. The names to be elected into the 2025 class include New York Yankee pitcher CC Sabathia, Billy ‘Billy the Kid’ Wagner, who had his best years with the Houston Astros, and the Seattle Mariners’ Ichiro Suzuki.
Suzuki came in first in terms of voting with 393, making history as the first Japanese-born player elected to the Hall of Fame. He was close to making history again as he was nearly unanimous– and he would have been in some pretty weighty company to share with Yankee legends Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter.
Suzuki is happy to be honored but keeps it humble.
“I don’t think anybody in this whole world thought that I’d be a Hall of Famer,” Suzuki told ESPN. “As a baseball player, this is the highest honor you can achieve.”
The beauty of the inductions is that Suzuki and Sabathia battled it out against each other for many years, with the former Yankee saying, “It’s exciting. When you’re around him, you know you’re in the presence of a Hall of Famer.”
For Sabathia, he’s still such a diehard Yankee fan he’s proudly wearing a Yankee cap on his Hall of Fame plaque. When he discovered the news, he spoke about his journey in the MLB and how much he appreciates the NY team taking a chance on him.
“The Yankees was a place that wanted me. I signed here as a free agent,” Sabathia told ESPN. “I’ve been here now for 16 years. I’ve loved the other organizations that I played in. I don’t think I’d be sitting here today if I wasn’t drafted by the Cleveland organization. I’m very thankful to Milwaukee for trading for me and having that run that I had there, but this is home. I found a home in the Bronx, and I don’t think I’ll ever leave this city.”
The induction ceremony takes place on July 27 around Cooperstown’s Clark Sports Center grounds.
See how social media is reacting to the news below.