Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner into Baseball Hall of Fame - ESPN

Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese-born player elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, falling one vote shy of unanimous selection, and he'll be joined in the Class of 2025 by starting pitcher CC Sabathia and closer Billy Wagner.

Suzuki, who got 393 of 394 votes in balloting of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, would have joined Yankees great Mariano Rivera (2019) as the only unanimous selections. Instead, Suzuki's 99.746% of the vote is second only to Derek Jeter's 99.748% (396 of 397 ballots cast in 2020) as the highest plurality for a position player in Hall of Fame voting, per the BBWAA.

The top vote-getters in HOF voting for the Class of 2025. Three players reached the 75% election threshold from the 394 ballots cast. Full BBWAA vote totals.

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

Suzuki collected 2,542 of his 3,089 career hits as a member of the Seattle Mariners. Before that, he collected 1,278 hits in the Nippon Professional Baseball league in Japan, giving him more overall hits (4,367) than Pete Rose, MLB's all-time leader.

Suzuki did not debut in MLB until he was 27 years old, but he exploded on the scene in 2001 by winning Rookie of the Year and MVP honors in his first season, leading Seattle to a record-tying 116 regular-season wins.

«Ichiro is truly one of a kind,» Mariners president Jerry Dipoto said in a statement. «His commitment, legendary work ethic, physical endurance, mental toughness, attention to detail and passion for the game are all on a different level.»

He was a two-time American League batting champion and 10-time All-Star and Gold Glove outfielder,