For the first time, I have an official Hall of Fame ballot in my hands. As I write this, I'm about to mail it. I have done a virtual truckload of homework in anticipation of this and it all started when I was a little kid.

Billy Wagner received 82.5 percent of the tally from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, after he missed by just five votes last year.

On Baseball Night in New York, Sal Licata, Terry Collins, Laura Albanese, and Anthony McCarron discuss the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2025 which includes Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, and Billy Wagner.

Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner — were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday. Another deserving candidate, outfielder Carlos Beltran, came agonizingly close to being the fourth.

On Tuesday night, the National Baseball Hall of Fame will announce its Class of 2025. Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner are expected to hear their nam

The trio of stars, each of whom spent part of their career in New York, will be inducted in Cooperstown on July 27.

As early as next Tuesday, it’s at least possible Carlos Beltran will earn the 75 percent of the vote necessary to gain entrance to the Hall of Fame.

NEW YORK — Ichiro Suzuki is all but guaranteed to become the first Japanese player in baseball's Hall of Fame, and CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner and Carlos Beltrán also could be elected Tuesday ...

Also newly eligible next year are Matt Kemp, the runner-up to Braun for that MVP, as well as 2016 Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello and longtime Kansas City Royals standout Alex Gordon.

Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner are the newest inductees to the National Baseball Hall of Fame as it revealed its Class of 2025.

Carlos Beltran fell 19 votes short of the 75% threshold ... who both remain active. It took Billy Wagner all 10 years on the ballot, but he's a Hall of Famer. He ranks eighth all time in saves.

The Cooperstown candidacies of Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones might benefit by the lack of slam-dunk newcomers to the 2026 Hall of Fame ballot.