Who could enter the Hall of Fame in 2025?

Four new inductees were revealed this week at the Cooperstown Hall of Fame.

For those not elected, it means waiting until 2025 in the hope that it will be their year, while new names fill voters’ ballots.

Who can be the new members?

Amidst new and old faces, there is one player whose candidacy stands above all the rest: Ichiro Suzuki.

Despite reaching the “Big Ten” at the age of 27, the Japanese baseball legend achieved significant milestones during his career in the Major Leagues, such as over 3,000 hits.

He also won Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Rookie of the Year awards in his first season. This includes two batting titles, three silver bats and 10 gold gloves.

The question with Ichiro is not whether he will be a Hall of Fame member, but whether he will be elected unanimously.

billy wagner

Despite being one of the most dominant closers in MLB during his career, Billy Wagner still does not have his own plaque in Cooperstown.

After not being selected this year (he scored 73.8% out of the required 75%), 2025 is shaping up to be the year the left-handed reliever will be immortalized.

who continue to climb

Some of those who did not enter this year, and those who remain on the ballot, will continue to climb in the hope that their wait will end in 2025.

Of all these players, the most likely to eventually accomplish this feat is Carlos Beltrán, who scored 46.5% in his first year on the ballot (2023) and that increased to 57.1% this time around.

There is also the case of Andrew Jones. The Curaçao native received 61.6%, although unlike Beltrán, time is not on his side.

Jones, who will be in his 8th year of eligibility next year, is only 3.5% more than in 2023.

Lastly is Chase Utley, who received 28.8% of the vote in his first year of eligibility. Although the percentage is lower than others, it is a number worth following as it could follow a similar trajectory to Wagner’s.

Other matters to be followed

Along with Ichiro, there are other debutants on the ballot whose candidacies are not as certain as those of the Japanese.

There’s CC Sabathia, who has a Cy Young Award and was a key player in the Yankees’ 2009 World Series championship.

He also accumulated 3,093 strikeouts, a figure surpassed by only 17 other pitchers, all Hall of Fame members except Roger Clemens, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and Curt Schilling.

There are also other well-known players that deserve mention, like Dustin Pedroia or Felix Hernandez, who could become interesting candidates as the years go on.