A leadoff hitter, an ace starter and a lockdown closer walk into a Hall … It’s no joke. The National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025 is complete after Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner

Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese player chosen for baseball's Hall of Fame, falling one vote shy of unanimous when he was elected Tuesday along with CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner.

Other bits of intrigue ahead of Tuesday's 6 p.m. announcement: Will CC Sabathia be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and is this the year Billy Wagner gets in?

Expected to be the first Japanese player elected to the Cooperstown on Tuesday, Ichiro is a wellspring of national pride and his fame across the Pacific when he joined MLB was therapeutic for his

Suzuki was announced as part of the Baseball Hall of Fame’s class of 2025 alongside starting pitcher C.C. Sabathia and ace closer Billy Wagner.

The trio of stars, each of whom spent part of their career in New York, will be inducted in Cooperstown on July 27.

Ichiro Suzuki, a veritable hits machine on both sides of the Pacific Ocean, became the first Japanese player to gain entry into the National Baseball Hall of Fame when he was

Used to leading off, Ichiro Suzuki got antsy when he had to wait. Considered a no-doubt pick for baseball's Hall of Fame and possibly the second unanimous selection, he waited by the phone for the expected call Tuesday.

Ichiro Suzuki has made even more history. The all-time great hitter is heading to Cooperstown, with C.C. Sabathia and Billy Wagner joining him.

Utley went from 28.8 percent support on his first ballot in 2024 to 39.8 percent this year. Ichiro, Sabathia, and Wagner were elected to Cooperstown

Longtime left-handed pitcher Cole Hamels has the best career WAR (59) among the players scheduled to debut next year and Ryan Braun (47.1%) was an MVP winner, but neither of them has the credentials probably necessary to be earn induction – even if voters take a more liberal approach over their 10 years on the ballot.