Four new immortals to grace the halls of the Cooperstown Hall of Fame were revealed this week.
For those not chosen, it's a hopeful wait until 2025 that will be their year, while new names fill the electoral rolls.
Who can be new members?
Among the new and old faces, there is one player who stands head and shoulders above the rest: Ichiro Suzuki.
Despite reaching the “big leagues” at the age of 27, the Japanese baseball legend achieved major milestones in his career, such as surpassing 3,000 hits.
He also won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Player of the Year awards in his first season. Added to this are 2 batting titles, three silver bats and 10 golden gloves.
The question for Ichiro isn't whether he'll be a member of the Hall of Fame, but whether he'll be a unanimous vote.
Billy Wagner
Billy Wagner
Despite being one of the most dominant hitters in MLB during his career, Billy Wagner still doesn't have his plate in Cooperstown.
After going undrafted this year (he scored 73.8% of the required 75%), 2025 is shaping up to be the year the left-handed reliever gets immortalized.
Constant climbers
Carlos Beltran.
Those who didn't make it this year and those who stayed on the ballot will continue to climb in the hope that their wait will be over in 2025.
Of all these players, the most likely to eventually achieve this feat is Carlos Beltran, who scored 46.5% in his first year on the ballot (2023), and has increased to 57.1% this time around.
There is also the case of Andrew Jones. The Curacao native has 61.6% and, unlike Beltran, time is not on his side.
Jones, who will be in his 8th year of eligibility next year, is only 3.5% higher than in 2023.
Finally, Chase Woodley received 28.8% of the vote in his first year of eligibility. Although the percentage is low compared to others, it is a number to follow as it can follow the same path as Wagner.
Other cases to follow
CC Sabathia.
Other debutants on the ballot alongside Ichiro are not as certain as the Japanese candidate.
CC Sabathia was a Cy Young Award recipient and key player in the Yankees' 2009 World Series championship.
He accumulated 3,093 strikeouts, a number surpassed only by 17 pitchers other than Roger Clemens, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and Curt Schilling, all Hall of Fame members.
There are other notable players worth mentioning, such as Dustin Pedroia or Felix Hernandez, who could become interesting candidates as the years go by.
