On Tuesday, it was announced former Astros closer Billy Wagner fell five votes short and will not be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame this year. Wagner, whose eligibility will end after next year’s vote, came up with just 73.8 percent of the vote (75 percent is required).
He would have become just the third prominent Astro along with Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell to make the Hall.
The lefty closer has had to overcome quite a few hurdles among writers who vote for the honor. Relievers are not well thought of among older baseball writers, and Wagner’s lack of success in the postseason and limited number of innings compared to other closers hurt his chances.
But, statistically, he is without question one of the best to ever do it. His strikeouts-per-nine-innings rank first among all pitchers to throw at least 900 innings. He ranks just behind Mariano Rivera, a unanimous Hall of Famer, in many other key statistical areas.
One thing that certainly has helped him was the addition of new writers (and subtraction of older ones) to those eligible to vote. Younger writers tend to favor modern metrics at which Wagner excelled. Because of that turnover and the close miss this year, many believe he will get into the Hall in 2025 on his tenth and final year of eligibility.
Wagner played a total of 16 seasons spreading his time between the Astros, Phillies, Mets, Red Sox and Braves. He was an All-Star seven times and had his best year with the Astros in 1999 when he finished fourth in the Cy Young voting with a 1.57 ERA, 124 strikeouts, just 24 walks and 39 saves. He eclipsed the 40 save mark twice in 2003 and 2006. Wagner’s son, Wilson, is a top 20 prospect for the Astros.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
