It is a classy class. It was already a classy class because Dave Parker and Dick Allen were a part of it, after the veterans committee righted a few decades of wrongs by welcoming them to Cooperstown back in December.
But it got even classier on Monday. The doors will open to Ichiro Suzuki, to CC Sabathia, and to Billy Wagner, and that’s a solid trio. It would’ve been even better if Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones had made it to 75 percent, but for both of those forever center fielders the remaining wait to join the party ought to be a short one, as both will likely be a part of the Class of 2026.
But for now, this is fine. This is right. And allow us to take a little pride in the fact that all three of Tuesday’s announced inductees have ties to New York.
We can start with Sabathia, who was heroic in Cleveland and especially in Milwaukee but clinched his Hall of Fame résumé in New York, with the Yankees, where he played 11 of his 19 seasons, where he won 134 of his 251 career games, where he was the key addition in 2009 that helped secure the most recent of their 27 championships. He was a beast that year: 19-8, 3.37 ERA, with a larger-than-life presence both inside and outside the clubhouse.