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.

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

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

Sabathia, Suzuki and Wagner join Dave Parker and the late Dick Allen, who were elected by the Classic Baseball Era Committee to comprise the Hall’s Class of 2025.

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

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.

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.

The BBWAA recognized CC Sabathia’s prolonged excellence by voting the former Yankees left-hander into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2025. The final results were unveiled Tuesday

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.