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

Surrounded at his Alpine NJ home by family and friends, CC Sabathia hopes his legacy as a teammate lives on with Baseball Hall of Fame election.

On Tuesday, the Baseball Writers' Association of America announced the latest players inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Welcome to the Hall of Fame, Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner. It's a remarkable achievement to survive the gauntlet of baseball writers to get elected to Cooperstown: After all, the Baseball Hall of Fame remains the toughest to gain entry to,

Lefty pitchers Billy Wagner and CC Sabathia both earned their spots in the Baseball Hall of Fame, joining near-unanimous selection Ichiro

The BBWAA recognized CC Sabathia’s prolonged excellence by voting the former Yankees left-hander into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Suzuki's close call means New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera remains the only unanimous electee. Rivera received all 425 votes in 2019. Another longtime Yankees icon, shortstop Derek Jeter, came within one vote of unanimous election in 2020. Suzuki, Rivera and Jeter were teammates with New York from 2012-13.

It was no surprise that former Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki was elected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) on his first ballot. While Ichiro had an outstanding career in his own right, he was not the only first-ballot Hall of Famer selected to Cooperstown this year.

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

Former New York Yankees ace CC Sabathia, who spent 11 of his 19 big league seasons in pinstripes, officially joined the National Baseball Hall of Fame Class of

Suzuki came in first in terms of voting with 393, making history as the first Japanese-born player elected to the Hall of Fame. He was close to making history again as he was nearly unanimous– and he would have been in some pretty weighty company to share with Yankee legends Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter.

That was one of the best debut seasons ever. Ichiro was an All-Star and won a Silver Slugger and Gold Glove award in right field. He not only coasted to the Rookie of the Year award but narrowly surpassed Jason Giambi to win the MVP. He joined Fred Lynn as the only rookies to be named the Most Valuable Player.