Ken Griffey Jr. played on the same Seattle team as Ichiro in 2009 and 2010, near the end of Junior's playing career.
On Tuesday, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum revealed the 2025 Hall of Fame class, which included former Boston Red Sox reliever Billy Wagner. Wagner, 53, was a first-round pick of the Houston Astros in the 1993 MLB draft out of Ferrum College.
Dustin Pedroia was one of several former Red Sox players who landed on the latest Baseball Hall of Fame voting ballot this year.
The career .311 MLB hitter was the 2001 AL MVP and Rookie of the Year and won 10 consecutive AL Gold Glove Awards, all with the Mariners.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame has announced its inductees for the class of 2025. Three players are set to be enshrined in Cooperstown in this year's class: Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner.
Bay Area native and lifelong Raiders fan CC Sabathia is headed to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He enters Cooperstown along with legendary Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki and Astros Pitcher Billy Wagner.
Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner were elected to the Hall on Tuesday, and all three overcame notable physical obstacles en route to Cooperstown.
Ichiro Suzuki could join Mariano Rivera as the only unanimous picks for baseball’s Hall of Fame and CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner and Carlos Beltrán also could be elected when results of the writers’ voting are announced.
To no surprise, Ichiro Suzuki headlined the class with the most votes of any player this year. The 2001 AL Rookie of the Year and MVP was a 10-time MLB All-Star before he retired in 2019. Earlier this month, he also became the first MLB player to enter the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.
To this point, only famed Yankee closer Mariano Rivera has been elected to the Hall of Fame unanimously — not Babe Ruth, not Hank Aaron, not Ken Griffey Jr. nor Derek Jeter, just Rivera. Could Suzuki be the second?
Great news for Tazewell native and former Ferrum College pitcher Billy Wagner as he cracks the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his 10th and final year on the ballot. Last year, Wagner was 5 votes away from getting into the hall.