Ichiro, King Felix among 14 first-time HOF candidates

Seattle Mariners legends Ichiro Suzuki and Felix Hernandez were among the 14 newcomers on the Hall of Fame ballot released Monday.

The other first-time candidates are CC Sabathia, Dustin Pedroia, Hanley Ramirez, Carlos Gonzalez, Ian Kinsler, Ben Zobrist, Troy Tulowitzki, Russell Martin, Brian McCann, Curtis Granderson, Adam Jones and Fernando Rodney.

Suzuki swept American League Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player honors in 2001 and made the All-Star team in each of his first 10 seasons. The 10-time Gold Glove outfielder retired with 3,089 hits and a .311 average.

Hernandez was a six-time All-Star and the 2010 AL Cy Young award winner. He tossed a perfect game in 2012, won league ERA titles in 2010 (2.27) and 2014 (2.14) and finished his career with 169 wins and 2,524 strikeouts.

They join 14 holdovers led by relief pitcher Billy Wagner, who fell five votes shy of induction in the 2024 balloting for a Cooperstown class featuring Adrian Beltre, Joe Mauer and Todd Helton. Wagner is on the ballot for the 10th and final time.

The other returnees are Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, Andruw Jones, Carlos Beltran, Chase Utley, Omar Vizquel, Jimmy Rollins, Bobby Abreu, Andy Pettitte, Mark Buehrle, Francisco Rodriguez, Torii Hunter and David Wright.

--Field Level Media