SABR Research Collection celebrates Baseball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025
On Sunday, July 27, the Baseball Hall of Fame welcomes five new members: Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner, Dick Allen, and Dave Parker. SABR celebrates Cooperstown’s Class of 2025 by highlighting Research Collection articles featuring the new inductees.
SABR’s BioProject provides comprehensive biographies of the new inductees. Author Douglas Jordan tells the story of Ichiro Suzuki, a superstar on two continents who won seven consecutive batting titles and three MVP awards in his native Japan before becoming the first position player to make the switch from Nippon Professional Baseball to Major League Baseball in 2001. Leslie Heaphy looks back at the unlikely rise of Billy Wagner, who became one of the most dominant closers in the game for 15 seasons. Rich D’Ambrosio explores the complicated career of Dick Allen, who battled racial discrimination in Philadelphia before winning an MVP award with the Chicago White Sox. J.G. Preston writes about Pittsburgh Pirates star Dave Parker, who possessed one of the most powerful throwing arms in the sport.
The SABR Games Project also includes stories that shine a light on the baseball figures inducted in the Class of 2025. Ichiro breaking MLB’s single-season hit record, his 3,000th career hit, and his final goodbye in Japan are all highlighted. Sabathia’s major league debut and his first playoff win in Cleveland; Wagner’s dominance in Houston and in Philadelphia; Allen’s heroics in front of his hometown Wampum fans and his MVP-worthy performance in Chicago; and Parker’s breakout season in Pittsburgh, his All-Star Game feats in Seattle, and his first home run at Three Rivers Stadium after moving to the Cincinnati Reds are also featured in the Games Project.
You can also check out player surveys filled out by a young Dick Allen in 1963 and CC Sabathia in 1999 in the Weiss Baseball Questionnaires collection at SABR.org.
Find all published SABR biographies for Baseball Hall of Fame inductees by clicking here.
- Induction Day SABR meeting in Cooperstown: SABR’s Cliff Kachline Chapter will hold its annual Induction Day meeting at 6:00 p.m. EDT on Sunday, July 27 at Tillapaugh’s, 28 Pioneer St, Cooperstown, NY 13326. All baseball fans are invited to attend this free, open-to-the-public event. David Jordan, co-author with the late Dave Parker of Cobra: A Life of Baseball and Brotherhood, will be speaking about the book. Click here to listen to Dave Parker and David Jordan’s 2021 interview with Rob Neyer on SABRcast episode #125.
Originally published: July 22, 2025. Last Updated: July 23, 2025.