Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

Even though I am a Yankees fan, I didn't think C.C. was going to get the call. Ichiro? A lock and very well deserved. Congrats to all the new inductees.

How was Ichiro not unanimous?

His combined total of 4,367 exceeds Pete Rose’s MLB record of 4,256.

Like it or not, it's an apples and oranges argument. Yeah they play ベースボール in Japan, but MLB is different.

Congrats to him. Funny story. In 1999 or 2000 my mom came to visit me here. At that time, Orix and Chiba Lotte (I think) happened to be playing a "road series" game in Kurashiki at Muscat Stadium. Took my mom to the game and told her she had to see Ichiro, how great he was, would soon take of the majors...blah, blah, blah. What does he do? He goes 0-5 with a walk. Mom looks at me after his last at bat and says, "I don't think he could even make the high school team." Guess he showed her.

How was Ichiro not unanimous?

Even Babe Ruth wasn’t unanimous. Some writers are fickle.

Even though I am a Yankees fan, I didn't think C.C. was going to get the call.

CC seems to be the last of the workhorse breed when pitchers worked a lot of innings and sometimes pitched in 3-days rest. Used to be 300 wins was the gold standard, but even CC's 251 wins may not be reached by pitchers nowadays

Well deserved!!

Looking beyond the stats, Ichiro joined the MLB in the aftermath of the steroid scandals. I recall a U.S. sports writer noting that Ichiro rekindled the hopes and dreams of kids who loved baseball. He showed that you didn’t need to be a juiced-up behemoth who could cream the snot out of a baseball to succeed. If you played the game the right way—running, hitting, throwing, and mastering the fundamentals—the majors could still be a dream within reach for any aspiring young player.

Ichiro also won 10 golden gloves. Excellent fielder and had a killer arm. Try for an extra base hit at your risk with Suzuki in the outfield. He threw some lasers! Complete player.

CC Sabathia?? Are you kidding?

Wehpa to Ichiro.