Baseball Hall of Fame 2025 – Who’s In & Who’s Out?

The 2025 Hall of Fame ballot has sparked much discussion and speculation among the sports community. At the heart of the conversation is Japanese legend, Ichiro Suzuki, whose exemplary career has marked him as a sure-fire inductee, earning him the expectation of a unanimous vote.

Yet, the suspense doesn’t end there. Billy Wagner’s name has graced the ballot for years but has always fallen short of induction. Could 2025 be the year the former relief pitcher finally earns his place amongst baseball’s greats?

Other notable mentions include Andruw Jones, Carlos Beltrán, and CC Sabathia – distinguished players whose potential induction is being watched by many. The journey to induction is not an easy one and not always an obvious one either. 

We’ll take a look at which 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame candidates are up for induction and who’s in and who’s not.

The Case for Ichiro’s Unanimity

What do Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, and Henry Aaron all have in common? Well, yes, they are all in the Hall of Fame. Each is considered among the best to ever play the game. Interestingly, not one of the three was a unanimous Hall of Famer. The same could be in store for Ichiro Suzuki.

The Baseball Writers’ Association of America, in its ninety-year history, never had a unanimous Hall of Famer until 2019. That’s when Mariano Rivera was deemed worthy of unanimous votes. The absence of unanimous position players in nearly a hundred years showcases just how elusive this achievement is. 

Last season, many thought Adrian Beltré might achieve unanimity. However, he was surprisingly excluded on 19 ballots. Similarly, Derek Jeter was thought to be a unanimous candidate as was Ken Griffey Jr. in 2016. Jeter fell short by one vote. Griffey was left off of three ballots. 

Now, the spotlight is on Ichiro. His legendary status is recognized around the world. One can’t ignore a player who, impressively, accumulated 4,367 hits in his career in both Japan and the US. Ichiro had 3,089 of those hits in MLB. His accomplishments are truly legendary.

Ichiro is the only player to record 200 hits and win a Gold Glove Award for ten consecutive seasons. No other major leaguer has even come close. He finished his career 84 Batting Runs above average, 121 Fielding Runs above average, and 62 Baserunning Runs above average. Only one other outfielder in history has come close to such incredible all-round career stats: Willie Mays.

The question then is not whether or not Ichiro is in. That is a given. The question is whether or not he becomes the second unanimous Hall of Fame selection in history. Remember, he’s one of two MLB players to win a league MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season (Fred Lynn was the other). Only one player ever in baseball history won an MVP, Rookie of the Year, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, and started in an All-Star game in the same season. Ichiro.

Billy Wagner – Now or Never

Five votes kept Wagner from being inducted last year. If you don’t remember Wagner, he was a flame-throwing left-handed reliever that collected 422 saves over the course of his career. The thing for Wagner is this is his last opportunity to make it to Cooperstown on the writer’s ballot. 

In his first three shots at the Hall, Wagner never received more than 47 votes. His last three attempts, Wagner got 200-plus votes each time and fell just five votes shy last year. One would think that Wagner would get those five extra votes this time around. Remember, to get into the Hall, candidates must receive 75 percent of the votes. So, will he make it?

Wagner’s statistics would lead to an emphatic yes. He holds the No. 1 position among modern era left-handed pitchers in ERA, WHIP, K rate, opponent batting average, and opponent OPS. The one thing that has held Wagner back in terms of making it to Cooperstown is his career performance in October. His career postseason ERA is 10.03. 

In his final MLB season, Wagner posted a career-best 1.43 ERA while pitching for Atlanta. In his final regular season appearance in the majors, Wagner struck out the last four batters he faced. He struck out the side looking in his final inning. He went on to pitch in Game 2 of the NLDS against San Francisco. He only lasted through two batters before an injury took him out of the game. The Braves lost that series and Wagner never did have a chance to redeem himself in the postseason.

Roy Halladay, the former Philadelphia Phillies great, played in two postseasons. He never won a World Series, but he won 203 games and a couple of NL Cy Young Awards. Halladay was an 8-time All-Star. Wagner played in the MLB All-Star game seven times and his statistics can compare with any of the modern era greats. It’s now or never for Wagner.