CC Sabathia was an ace. You know who screamed this fact loudest? Not me. The sport did. The sport told us what the final numbers didn’t.

While Sabathia was a runaway choice in the Hall of Fame election, selected on 86.8% of the ballots by the Baseball Writers' Association of America – joining peers Ichiro Suzuki and Billy Wagner – this ultimate honor meant much, much more than just a museum plaque in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Once more, for baseball immortality, Billy Wagner closed it out. Wagner, the dominant closer who played a two-season sliver of his 16-year career with the Phillies, got elected Tuesday night to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his 10th and final year on the ballot.

Ichiro Suzuki is the first Japanese-born player voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He'll be joined by CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner in the Class of 2025.

Lefty pitchers Billy Wagner and CC Sabathia both earned their spots in the Baseball Hall of Fame, joining near-unanimous selection Ichiro

That was one of the best debut seasons ever. Ichiro was an All-Star and won a Silver Slugger and Gold Glove award in right field. He not only coasted to the Rookie of the Year award but narrowly surpassed Jason Giambi to win the MVP. He joined Fred Lynn as the only rookies to be named the Most Valuable Player.

CC Sabathia’s career ended abruptly. Yes, the longtime Yankees left-hander had announced months earlier his plans to retire after the 2019 season, but his final appearance did not go as ceremoniously as Derek Jeter’s or Mariano Rivera’s.

The trio of players inducted into Cooperstown in 2025 are a more than deserving group of men, with one spending part of his career with the Philadelphia Phillie

Former Phillies manager Larry Bowa doesn't understand the lack of votes Jimmy Rollins received in the Hall of Fame voting on Tuesday.

In one of the most incredible runs the franchise had ever seen, the Milwaukee Brewers lost only three of CC Sabathia's 17 regular-season starts after he was acquired in July 2008.

Sabathia, Suzuki and Wagner Get Their "Hall Pass" In Cooperstown Sabathia, Suzuki and Wagner Get In Cooperstown

Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese player chosen for baseball’s Hall of Fame, falling one vote shy of unanimous when he was elected along with CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner.