Entering his 10th and final year on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) Hall of Fame ballot, Billy Wagner hopes to finally change the minds of the voters.
The former Philadelphia Phillie spent the majority of his career in Houston with the then National League Astros before donning the red pinstripes for the 2004 and 2005 seasons. After that, he spent time with both the division rival New York Mets and Atlanta Braves after a short stint in Boston with the Red Sox. He spent at least one year as an All-Star for every franchise he suited up for, earning seven of those honors across his 16-year MLB career.
Wagner, a Virginia native, ended his career with 422 saves, one of only eight men in the sport to ever achieve over 400, placing him eighth all-time in career saves.
Former Phillies closer Billy Wagner is on the Hall of Fame ballot for the 10th and final time
After seeing a very minuscule drop in voting between his inaugural ballot in 2016 and his second the year after (10.5 percent down to 10.2 percent), the lefty has seen an exponential increase in voting percentage over his next seven years on the ballot, reaching just 1.2 percent short of the required 75 percent goal in 2023.
Year | Voting % | Increase |
|---|---|---|
2016 | 10.5% | - |
2017 | 10.2% | -0.3 |
2018 | 11.1% | 0.9 |
2019 | 16.7% | 5.6 |
2020 | 31.7% | 15.0 |
2021 | 46.4% | 14.7 |
2022 | 51.0% | 4.6 |
2023 | 68.1% | 17.1 |
2024 | 73.8% | 5.7 |
Wagner's impressive career didn't just stop at his saves total. When putting him up against other top historical closers, he's right in the thick of things.
His 1,196 strikeouts and 24 fWAR are good enough for seventh all-time in each respective statistic for a reliever. Wagner also posted the 12th-best career ERA by any reliever, but the second-best mark for one over the 400-game mark, only behind the great unanimously selected Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera. He had two separate seasons where he finished top-six in voting for the Cy Young Award and posted a career WHIP under one at 0.998.
The biggest separating factor between him and others of his time and skill is the fact that he was a southpaw.
Among left-handed relievers, Wagner is second in career saves, only two behind the great John Franco. He also boasts the most WAR, seventh-best strikeouts per nine, and the second-best left-handed ERA for a player over 150 innings behind longtime Oriole Zack Britton (only 396 games).
In essence, Wagner has an argument as the best left-handed reliever of all time with the longevity, prowess, and accolades of his career. With him hanging around the NL East for so long, there are likely many Phillies fans who would agree with that statement.
Phillies #13- Billy Wagner, P (2004-05)
— Philly Sports By Number (@philly_number) November 9, 2024
- Acquired in trade with HOU
- 1x All-Star
- 120 Games, 1.86 ERA, 59 SV, 146 SO pic.twitter.com/z1rzHEfowO
In his two seasons with Philly, Wagner pitched to a 1.86 ERA and saved 59 games for the club. He earned an All-Star nod in 2005 and finished with a Phillies career WHIP of 0.810, by far the lowest of his career.
With the drastic increase over the past few voting cycles and how close he came in 2024 to becoming a Hall of Famer, it's likely that Wagner will finally break through and get his plaque on the wall at Cooperstown. The voting results will be released live from the Plaque Gallery in Cooperstown on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, at 6 p.m. ET on MLB Network.