By IAN WILSON
A mittful of fresh arrivals are headed for the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Leading the way in is Japanese outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, who was just shy of becoming the second unanimous selection of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA). He finished with 99.7% of the votes, just one vote short of complete approval.
Yankee closer Mariano Rivera – Major League Baseball’s all-time saves leader – received all 425 votes in 2019 to become the first and only player to receive the thumbs up on every ballot.
Suzuki collected 3,089 MLB hits and another 1,278 in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) on his way to becoming the first unanimous position player selected for enshrinement at Cooperstown, New York.
Also a Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame member, Ichiro was the 2001 American League (AL) MVP and Rookie of the Year, and he set the single-season hits record (262) in 2004.
Joining the 17-time Gold Glove Award winner (10 MLB; 7 NPB) and member of the Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame are starting pitcher CC Sabathia and reliever Billy Wagner.
Players on the ballot need to secure a minimum of 75% of the vote to be inducted or show up on at least 5% of the ballots to stick around for another round of voting next year. After 10 years, if a player does not hit the 75% threshold, he will be removed from the ballot.
There were 28 players on this year’s ballot, half of whom were new to the voting. Writers could select as many as 10 players per ballot.
Sabathia secured 86.8% of the votes in his first year of consideration. The lefty went 251-161 with 3,093 strikeouts over a 19-year MLB career that was primarily split playing for Cleveland and the Yankees. The 6-foot-6 pitcher was the 2007 AL Cy Young Award winner, a World Series champion with New York in 2009 and he is a member of the Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame.
One person Sabathia singled out for helping him achieve the honour was former Calgary Cannon infielder Harold Reynolds, who is now an analyst on the MLB Network.
“I wouldn’t be here in this moment without Harold Reynolds. After the 2017 season, I was contemplating retirement and it was he who pushed me to strive for the Hall of Fame knowing what it would take to make it. 3,000+ Ks, 250+ wins, everything,” wrote Sabathia on social media.
“One conversation changed my whole trajectory and for that I’m forever grateful. Thank you Harold.”
Wagner gained eligibility by appearing on 82.5% of ballots in his tenth and final year of consideration by the BBWAA. The first-round pick of the Houston Astros from Virginia collected 422 saves, racked up 1,196 strikeouts and posted a career 2.31 earned run average (ERA) while pitching 903 innings in the big leagues. Wagner suited up for the Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves. The seven-time All-Star was picked as the National League (NL) Rolaids Relief Man Award winner in 1999.
WAGNER IN ALBERTA
During his minor-league travels, “Billy the Kid” played Triple-A baseball in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) for the Tucson Toros in 1995 and 1996. That brought him to Alberta, where he competed against the Calgary Cannons and Edmonton Trappers.
Wagner was a starting pitcher during those years. His talent generated wins and headlines. The southpaw went 11-5 with 166 Ks over 150.1 innings and two PCL seasons.
One memorable appearance in front of 9,200 fans at Edmonton’s Telus Field took place in late August of 1995, when Wagner struck out nine batters and allowed just four hits in eight innings during a 2-0 triumph over the Trappers.
That year ended in tragedy after the father and stepmother of Wagner’s wife, Sarah, were the victims of a double-murder in Virginia.
Wagner opened up about the incident with Edmonton Journal reporter Robin Brownlee when he returned to Edmonton with the Toros in 1996.
“I thank God for my wife, for my friends, for my family. It’s been a lot of hard work, but you get through,” he told Brownlee.
“We stuck together pretty good, you know? You have to. This kind of thing hurts so deep, but it brings you closer.”
Tucson manager Tim Tolman offered praise for his gifted pitcher.
“He’s a tremendous story because he’s the hardest-working, most polite young man you could hope to be around,” Tolman said in the April 10th, 1996 edition of the Journal.
“You have an attachment to all your players, but there’s certain guys you just have a feeling for … to me, to manage a left-handed pitcher with the kind of talent, this kind of attitude and this kind of heart to stick to it, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing.”
The BBWAA selections will enter the National Baseball Hall of Fame alongside Dick Allen and Dave Parker, who gained admission through the Classic Baseball Era Committee in December.
Allen, who died in 2020, will be inducted posthumously.
CANNONS CONSIDERED
A pair of former shortstops with the Calgary Cannons will remain on the ballot.
Omar Vizquel enters his ninth time on the Hall-of-Fame ballot after garnering 17.8% of the votes, while Alex Rodriguez will hope the fifth time is a charm after receiving approval from 37.1% of the baseball writers.
In 32 games with the Cannons, “A-Rod” batted .311 with six homers, 21 runs batted in (RBI), 22 runs and two stolen bases.
From there, he went on to have a remarkable MLB career that included a trio of Most Valuable Player awards, a World Series title in 2009, 14 All-Star nods, 10 Silver Slugger Awards and two Gold Glove Awards.
During his 22 years with the Mariners, Texas Rangers and New York Yankees, Rodriguez batted .295, belted 696 long balls, stole 329 bases and amassed 2,086 RBI.
Vizquel claimed 11 Gold Gloves in 24 MLB seasons. At the plate, he punched through 2,877 hits and swiped 404 bases. The knock on him, however, is the power numbers. The Venezuelan only hit 80 career home runs and produced a .352 slugging percentage. His bat was respectable, but rarely considered lethal.
Vizquel played parts of four seasons with the Cannons between 1988 and 1992, appearing in 94 games for Calgary during that period.
CANNOT CATCH ON
Catcher Russell Martin – an outstanding pitch framer who put in time behind the plate with the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays – earned a vote share of 2.3%, meaning he drops off the ballot moving forward.
Martin was a star for Canada at the International Baseball Federation’s World Junior Championship tournament, which was hosted by Edmonton in August of 2000.
Playing third base for Canada, Martin swung a hot bat at the event, hitting a two-run shot against South Africa, and collecting five RBI in a game versus China. He added three hits in a 5-4 loss to Cuba, Canada’s final game of the tournament.
“He’s a kid who can certainly do some damage with the bat. Russ has got very good hands and very good strength in his swing,” said Canada head coach Greg Hamilton to Edmonton Journal reporter Norm Cowley.
“His strength is (hitting) in the gaps. He’ll hit some doubles for you.”
The main event in the Alberta capital was preceded by a number of exhibition games in Lethbridge for what was called the Millennium Series. Held at Henderson Stadium, the tourney featured competition between the junior teams from Canada, the United States, Australia, Taiwan and the L.A. Bulls of the Saskatchewan Major Baseball League (SMBL).
Also participating in the Millennium Series and World Junior Championship games that year was Joe Mauer, who was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame last year.
The class of 2025 will be inducted on July 27th in Cooperstown.
