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“HALL OF FAME…GOT IT RIGHT”
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It is a special place, Cooperstown, and it honors a special game, America’s Pastime, and the Hall of Fame got in right with its 2025-Class.
There is an age old argument, should the shrine be for the greatest or also include the very good?
No argument this year with the top vote getter, because he did it here, with the Seattle Mariners and Yankees, and he did it there, back in Japan.
Ichuro Suzuki, the spray hitting, base stealing, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger star became the second highest vote getter ever. There are (394) who vote for the Hall enshrinement. He hit a record (393). Only Yankees icon reliever Mariano Rivera stands as a team of one, who got a unanimous vote.
Ichuro’s numbers are staggering, and this from a player who already put in a tenure of greatness back in Japan. A lifetime (.311) hitter here, he had (1,278) hits there in 8-years in Japan before showing up in the Mariners lineup as a 27-year old rookie.
He spent 19-years here…had (3,098-hits)…stole (509-bases)..piled up 10-Gold Gloves, had 3-Silver slugger bats, won 2-titles and was a near annual All Star.
He was different from Mickey Mantle, Henry Aaron, Willy Mays or back in the day Babe Ruth.
He was more Tony Gwynn with flair. Oddly he never went to a World Series, even the year he led the Mariners to 116-wins.
He is the head of a 3-man class.
19-year veteran P-CC Sabathia, the ex Indian-Expos-Yankees workhorse got it with (251) career wins, though it begs the question, if you are not close to 300-wins, once the standard, are you just very good, or still great?
Billy Wagner is the latest relief ace to break thru the glass, following the likes of Rivera and the Padres Trevor Hoffman, as an elite closer. His 422-saves do not match the magic 500-plus total of others, but he threw gas for 9-years and his 33%-strikeout rate is phenomenal.
And since we cover all the stories of the Hall of Fame ballot, Alex Rodriguez, home run hitter, got only 34% of the votes again, and Manny Ramirez garnered just 32%. Their reputations sullied by steroid suspensions, staining their accomplishments and reputations.
But last night, the voters got it right. The firebrand that was Ichuro became the first great one, with more to come, going from Japan to Cooperstown, capping off brilliant careers.
History will write about Sadaharu Oh…and why not. It will write in the future about all things Shohei Ohtani. Right now they are writing about their Hall of Famer, and rightfully so. He was so complete a player.
Well done voters. Well done, Japan’s favorite son.
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