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Baseball Hall of Fame: Who will join Ichiro in 2025 class?
Get ready for Cooperstown 2025—the year of Ichiro Mania.
The only drama will be in watching to see if Ichiro Suzuki, the Japanese superstar, will match former Yankees closer Mariano Rivera in securing 100 percent of the baseball writers’ votes in his first year on the ballot.
After Ichiro it’s a murkier situation when it comes to predicting additional inductees, though I’ll take a crack at prognostication here.
There are two highways to the Hall every year: a 75 percent vote from the Baseball Writers Association; and a separate selection looking back further in time by a select committee of 16. This year that process looks at a huge span of time—the Classic Era from 1980 backward, including overlooked Negro Leaguers.
It’s a sure bet that Ichiro will be anointed by the writers in his first year of eligibility. After that come several credible candidates, but none strike me as sure bets, even less so as first-ballot inductees.
Likely to eventually gain enshrinement is pitcher C.C. Sabathia, though I predict he’ll come up short the first time around. He struggled his last few years of his big contract with the Yankees, which will cost him some votes.
Others who will clear the 5 percent threshold to stay on the ballot include Curtis Granderson, “King Felix” Hernandez, Brian McCann, Dustin Pedroia, and Troy Tulowitzki. All of them fall short of Hall of Fame standards, though, so don’t expect any of them to land in Cooperstown.
Next up are the returning candidates who secured enough votes in 2024 to return for another shot at the prize. There are a few intriguing candidates who may jump the 75 percent mark for enshrinement.
Support for reliever Billy Wagner, who will be in his 10th and final year of eligibility, has been steadily growing since he received only 10.5 percent of the vote in his first attempt in 2016. His 2024 total was just outside the wire at 73.8 percent. History shows players who come that close usually end up being voted in. Expect a Wagner induction in 2025.
Others still on the ballot who scored over 50 percent of the recent vote include Andruw Jones at 61.6 and Carlos Beltran at 57.1. Both have a reasonable shot at election.
The final way to gain entry is through what was historically called the “Veterans’ Committee” and is now separated into a pre-1980 “Classic Era” and a post-1980 “Contemporary Era.” This year it’s the Classic Era’s turn to select the 2025 inductees.
With more than a 100-year sweep of baseball history to consider it’s almost impossible to predict who the selection committee will select. The process gives hope to those advocating for more Negro Leaguers to be enshrined or those who know their baseball history and root for old-timers like Smokey Joe Wood or Babe Herman.
The Classic Era vote also gives hope for baby boomer fans of players like Dick Allen, Rocky Colavito, Thurman Munson, Dave Parker, and Al Oliver. You can add your own favorite here.
It’s time for my prediction as a veteran Hall of Fame watcher. Ichiro is, of course, a lock. After that I see Wagner making the leap but no one else from the writers’ vote. Sabathia will come close the first time around and will probably make it in 2026.
From the Classic Era committee, it’s a shot in the dark, but I’ll say it’s finally time for Allen to get his due. Unfortunately, he’s not alive to see it, having died in 2020.
I present the HOF Class of 2025—Ichiro Suzuki, Billy Wagner and Dick Allen. You heard it here first! Bookmark this page and next year you can call me a sage or a chump.
