Phillies: Brad Lidge taught Billy Wagner slider before trade

In 2003 as Astros teammates, Brad Lidge taught Billy Wagner how to throw a slider; both would go on to record 159 combined saves as Phillies.

Before lights-out closers Billy Wagner and Brad Lidge were dealt to the Philadelphia Phillies in November 2003 and November 2007, respectively, they were teammates on the Houston Astros in parts of two seasons — 2002 and 2003.

In those early 2000s seasons, Lidge was just beginning his 11-year Major League Baseball journey, whereas Wagner had established himself as a reliable closer, recording 225 saves across parts of nine seasons from 1995 to 2003.

Despite being a seasoned veteran, Wagner turned to then-rookie Lidge for advice, specifically on how to throw his iconic slider.

“It was Opening Day and I was throwing, getting ready for the first game,” Wagner recently recalled on MLB Network Radio’s Inside Pitch. “And I’m throwing in the bullpen, and I am awful. And I just say, ‘Brad, show me your grip. How do you do it? What do you do?'”

Wagner says he will never forget that Lidge got up and began showing him his technique, saying “Well, I just kind of do it like this,” in response.

“And so I got up there , and it just like … boom … and it worked,” Wagner said. “And so, it was never as good as yours, but it got so much better within that moment.”

Thanks to Lidge, Wagner’s 2003 season was his best yet at that point in his career, as he recorded a MLB-best 67 games finished, career-best 1.78 ERA and a stellar 0.872 WHIP.

“I had a really good year and Brad showed me that [slider], and that’s when [it] got really more consistent,” Wagner sad. “I had no idea what I was doing with it prior to that. It was kind of an offset, sling-it slurve.”

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Wagner made a point to say despite common perception, his eventual Hall of Fame southpaw teammate Randy Johnson, in 1998, taught him “nothing.”

“Everybody’s saying ‘Oh, Randy showed me his slider.’ … I asked Randy one time how to throw his slider, and he goes ‘like this.’ That’s all he ever said to me. He didn’t do nothing,” Wagner said.

The following year, Johnson joined the Arizona Diamondbacks, and Wagner would earn his first of seven All-Star nods; he says Johnson approached him and said “Oh, man, your slider looks great, who taught you this?” In response, Wagner said “Nobody. Nobody taught me.”

But Lidge eventually did in 2003.

Wagner would be dealt that offseason to the Phillies, where he would notch 59 saves across two seasons in 2004 and 2005, posting a remarkable 1.86 ERA and 0.810 WHIP ratio spanning 120 games and 108 games finished. His slider helped to strike out more than 140 batters while in red pinstripes, and it was all thanks to Lidge teaching him how to do so.

Combined, Wagner and Lidge recorded 159 saves in red pinstripes.

Of course, Lidge’s slider would become even more iconic in Phillies history, particularly in recording the final out against the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2008 World Series.

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