The two members of the Class of 2025 will bring the total number of Legion alumni enshrined in Cooperstown to 89.
American Legion Baseball alumni Dick Allen and CC Sabathia will bring the total number of Legion Baseball players enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame to 89 when they are officially inducted this July.
The Hall of Fame Class of 2025 was finalized Jan. 21 when Sabathia, Ichiro Suzuki and Billy Wagner were announced as the electees via the Baseball Writers Association of America ballot. They join Allen and Dave Parker, who were elected by the Classis Baseball Era Committee in December, in this year’s class.
The induction ceremony will take place July 27 in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Sabathia (Post 550/Vallejo, Calif.) was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. He was runner-up to Suzuki — the first Japanese player elected to the Hall of Fame — in the 2001 American League Rookie of the Year race.
Sabathia is one of six pitchers in major league history with at least 250 wins, a .600 winning percentage and 3,000 strikeouts. In 19 seasons with Cleveland, Milwaukee and the Yankees, Sabathia was 251-161 with a 3.74 ERA and 3,093 career strikeouts. He was a six-time All-Star, the 2007 AL Cy Young Award winner, and was ALCS MVP as he and the Yankees won the 2009 World Series.
“It means a lot to be in the Hall of Fame, period,” Sabathia told MLB.com. “But first-ballot, I know what that means as a baseball player. It’s very special.”
Allen (Post 749/Wampum, Pa.) spent 15 seasons in the major leagues, playing for the Phillies, Cardinals, Dodgers, White Sox and Athletics, and finished with 351 career home runs, 1,119 RBIs and a .292 career average. He was the 1964 National League Rookie of the Year and the 1972 American League Most Valuable Player. He was also a seven-time All-Star selection.
Allen died in 2020.
- Baseball