COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Ichiro Suzuki wants to raise a glass with the voter who chose not to check off his name on the Hall of Fame ballot.
“There’s one writer that I wasn’t able to get a vote from,” he said through an interpreter Thursday, two days after receiving 393 of 394 votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. “I would like to invite him over to my house, and we’ll have a drink together, and we’ll have a good chat.”
Suzuki had been to the Hall seven times before attending a news conference Thursday with fellow electees CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner. The trio will be inducted July 27 along with Dave Parker and Dick Allen, voted in last month by the classic era committee.
Suzuki struggled to process being the first player from Japan elected to the Hall.
“Maybe five, 10 years from now I could look back and maybe we’ll be able to say this is what it meant,” he said.
BBWAA secretary-treasurer Jack O’Connell recalled Suzuki was at the Hall in 2001 when he called to inform the Seattle star he had been voted American League Rookie of the Year. Suzuki received 27 of 28 first-place votes, all but one from an Ohio writer who selected Sabathia.
“He stole my Rookie of the Year,” Sabathia said playfully.
Sabathia remembered a game at Safeco Field on July 30, 2005. He had worked with Cleveland pitching coach Carl Willis in a bullpen session on a pitch he could throw to retire Suzuki, which turned out to be a slider.
“I get two strikes on Ichi and he hits it off the window,” Sabathia said of the 428-foot drive off the second-deck restaurant in right field, at the time the longest home run of Suzuki’s big league career. “Come back around his next at-bat, throw it to him again, first pitch he hits it out again.”
Suzuki’s second home run broke a sixth-inning tie in the Mariners’ 3-2 win.
As the trio discussed their favorite memorabilia, Suzuki mentioned a mock-up Hall of Fame plaque the Hall had created — not a design for the real one — that included his dog, Ikkyu.
“Our dog and then Bob Feller’s cat are the only animals to have the Hall of Fame plaque. That is something that I cherish,” Suzuki said, referring to a mock-up with the pitcher’s cat, Felix.
Sabathia helped the New York Yankees win the World Series in 2009 after agreeing to a $161 million, seven-year contract as a free agent. Sabathia started his big league career in Cleveland, finished the 2008 season in Milwaukee and was apprehensive about signing with the Yankees before he was persuaded by general manager Brian Cashman.
“Going into the offseason, I just heard all of the stuff that was going on, the turmoil in the Yankees clubhouse,” Sabathia said. “Pretty quick, like two or three days into spring training, me and Andy [Pettitte] are running in the outfield, I get a chance to meet [Derek] Jeter, we’re hanging out, and the pitching staff, we’re going to dinners, we’re going to basketball games together. So it didn’t take long at all before I felt like this was the right decision.”
Sabathia was on 342 ballots and Wagner on 325 (82.5%), which was 29 votes more than the 296 needed for the required 75%. While Suzuki and Sabathia were elected in their first ballot appearance, Wagner was voted in on his 10th and final try with the writers.
Even two days after learning of his election, Wagner had tears streaming down his cheeks when he thought back to the call. His face turned red.
“It’s humbling,” he said, his voice quavering before he paused. “I don’t know if it’s deserving, but to sit out 10 years and have your career scrutinized and stuff, it’s tough.”
Wagner, who is 5-foot-10, became the first left-hander elected to the Hall who was primarily a reliever. He thought of the words of 5-foot-11 right-hander Pedro Martínez, voted to Cooperstown in 2015.
“I hope kids around see that there is a chance that you can get here and it is possible, that size and where you’re from doesn’t matter,” Wagner said. “I think Pedro said it first, but if I can get here, anyone can get here.”