Bill Madden: Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner make up electric Hall of Fame trio

In Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner, the Baseball Writers Association delivered rather an eclectic trifecta to Cooperstown connected Tuesday.

The archetypal Japanese subordinate ever elected to the Hall of Fame, a reformed alcoholic, and an under-sized, under-rated strikeout creator from agrarian Virginia who yet made it successful his past twelvemonth connected the ballot.

Undoubtedly, the main attraction astatine Cooperstown adjacent July volition beryllium Ichiro, who missed by 1 ballot of equaling Mariano Rivera’s perfection successful 2017. He’s expected to gully grounds crowds from Japan, wherever helium deed .353 successful 9 seasons earlier defecting to the U.S. with the Mariners successful 2001 — and going connected to deed .311 with 3,089 hits and 509 stolen bases for 19 seasons. In 2001 helium became lone the 2nd subordinate successful past to triumph Rookie of the Year and MVP honors successful the aforesaid play and 3 years aboriginal helium broke Hall-of-Famer George Sisler’s long-standing all-time one-season hits grounds of 257 with 262.

But determination besides figures to beryllium a goodly fig of Yankee and Met fans making the trek to upstate New York to wage homage to Sabathia, the bulwark pitching ace of the Yankees’ past World Series squad successful 2009 with the astir strikeouts (3,089) of immoderate lefthander successful past who was besides connected the ballot for the archetypal clip and got 86.8% — and the likewise fashionable Wagner, a two-time All-Star with the Mets whose 413 saves fertile sixth all-time, who made it successful with 82.5%. In addition, his a 2.31 ERA is the 2nd lowest successful the modern epoch for pitchers with 900 oregon much innings, down lone Rivera’s 2.21. 

“Mariano screwed it up for everybody,” Wagner joked past twelvemonth erstwhile helium missed predetermination by 5 votes with 73.8%.

Full disclosure here: This was the archetypal clip I voted for Wagner, the 5-10 lefty and pridefulness of Marion, VA, and precise perchance it was due to the fact that I was spoiled covering Rivera’s full monumental vocation of sheer dominance. I person ever been a “small ballot” voter, seldom voting for much than 3 candidates, and with Wagner, I could ne'er look to get past his postseason grounds — a 10.03 ERA, with 21 hits and 3 homers successful 11/2 innings for 4 antithetic teams.

But arsenic the years went connected and Wagner began edging person to the indispensable 75% for election, nuggets of his dominance — my No. 1 criteria — began to emerge. He averaged 11.9 strikeouts per 9 innings and held opponents to a .187 mean for his vocation and some are each clip records. And though this is not portion of Wagner’s statistical grounds (but is portion of the Hall-of-Fame’s “sportsmanship/integrity” clause), helium has ever been a people act, ever astatine his locker to look the media successful bully times and bad, and that ever counted large with me.

In opposition to Wagner, determination was ne'er immoderate uncertainty astir Ichiro successful his archetypal twelvemonth connected the ballot, lone whether helium would beryllium the 2nd subordinate ever to beryllium elected unanimously. “He should person been,” said Lou Piniella, Ichiro’s archetypal manager with the Mariners. “He was a wholly antithetic subordinate from the different Hall-of-Famers [Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez] I had successful Seattle successful that helium was a leadoff hitter. But helium was the champion leadoff hitter of his time, and a large teammate.

“My lone interest astir him that archetypal outpouring grooming with america was that helium kept taking each transportation the other mode and I was acrophobic helium couldn’t deed a large league fastball. So I told his interpreter to archer him I’d similar to spot him propulsion the ball. He nodded and smiled. When helium came to bat 2 innings aboriginal helium pulled the archetypal transportation implicit the right-center tract scoreboard and arsenic helium came into the dugout helium said: ‘That okay, Skipper?’ I said: ‘Yeah. That’s okay. From present connected bash immoderate you want!’ The information was, helium could deed a shot arsenic acold arsenic anyone but helium believed his occupation was to get connected basal and make runs and cipher did that better.”

Sabathia was not the wide “no-brainer” first-ballot campaigner arsenic Ichiro, if lone because, aft being a ascendant No. 1 pitcher for 12 years, winning 15 oregon much games 8 times and a Cy Young Award with the Indians successful 2007, helium struggled his past six years aft revealing connected the eve of the Yankees’ postseason successful 2015 helium was battling alcoholism. A superior taxable successful his 2021 autobiography “Til the End” was that his top triumph was overcoming alcoholism.

For Carlos Beltran, who finished 4th successful the balloting, the consolation is that the Baseball Writers look to beryllium forgiving him for his portion successful the 2017 Astros cheating scandal, expanding his percent from 51.1% past twelvemonth to the doorstep astatine 70.3%. With nary sure-shot candidates coming connected the ballot, he’ll astir surely beryllium elected adjacent year.