Tens of thousands are gathering in Cooperstown, New York, for the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony today. The event will see Dick Allen, Dave Parker, CC Sabathia, Ichiro Suzuki, and Billy Wagner inducted into the Hall of Fame.
The ceremony begins at 1:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on MLB Network, MLB.TV, MLB.com, and the MLB App. It is also available for streaming on https://baseballhall.org.
Held at Clark Sports Center near the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, attendance is expected to exceed 25,000. The event is outdoors with lawn seating free of charge.
Ichiro Suzuki was elected by eligible voters from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA), appearing on 393 out of 394 ballots. CC Sabathia joined him as a first-ballot inductee. Billy Wagner was elected in his final year on the ballot. Dick Allen and Dave Parker were chosen by the Classic Baseball Era Committee.
Suzuki achieved 4,367 career hits across Major League Baseball and Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. Sabathia has over 3,000 strikeouts and more than 250 wins in his career. Wagner finished with 422 saves in his career spanning multiple teams.
Parker won World Series titles with Pittsburgh Pirates and Oakland Athletics while Allen retired with significant home run statistics from his era.
Tom Hamilton received the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasters while Thomas Boswell was honored with the BBWAA Career Excellence Award for writers during Saturday’s events preceding today’s inductions.
More than 50 Hall of Famers are attending this year’s ceremony including Sandy Koufax and Rollie Fingers among others who have consistently attended past ceremonies.
Hall of Fame Weekend began on July 25 with Ozzie Smith’s fundraiser event featuring Joe Mauer and Jim Thome followed by Saturday’s Parade of Legends showcasing new inductees.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame Museum remains open during extended hours this weekend coinciding with a new exhibit highlighting baseball’s influence between Japan and America titled “Yakyu | Baseball: The Transpacific Exchange of the Game.”
