It is a class with a sense of luxury. It was already a classy class, with Dave Parker and Dick Allen on board after the Veterans Affairs Committee welcomed them to Cooperstown in December to right decades of wrongs.
But on Monday, things got even more upscale. The door would be open for Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, and Billy Wagner, and that's a solid trio. It would have been even better if Carlos Beltran and Andrew Jones had reached 75 percent, but the remaining wait time for both perennial center fielders to join the party should be short. Class of 2026.
But for now, this is fine. This is correct. And take a little pride in the fact that all three Hall of Fame nominees announced Tuesday have ties to New York.
Let's start with Sabathia. Although he had heroics in Cleveland and especially Milwaukee, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in New York, playing 11 of 19 seasons with the Yankees and winning 134 of 251 career games. He was a key addition in 2009 and helped the club win its latest of 27 championships. This year, he had an astonishing record of 19 wins, 8 losses, and an ERA of 3.37, showing an extraordinary presence both in and out of the clubhouse.
