Billy Wagner got here by in his ultimate inning.
In his tenth and final bid on the poll, the previous Mets nearer earned what would possibly as properly have been his 423rd save, clearing the 75 % threshold to affix Ichiro Suzuki and CC Sabathia (together with the already-elected Dave Parker and Dick Allen) as entrants into Cooperstown.
Wagner obtained 82.5 % of the tally from the Baseball Writers’ Affiliation of America, which allowed an exhale — and loads of tears, as video confirmed — after he missed by simply 5 votes final yr.
Dodgers to finish Recreation 2 of the NLDS on Oct. 5, 2006, AP
“I felt like the clock stopped,” Wagner stated about receiving the cellphone name that he waited a decade for.
Wagner wanted a gentle climb to recover from the hump. He started his eligibility with simply 10.5 % of the vote in 2016. He began to rise in his fifth yr (31.7 %) and had more and more jumped in every year since, reaching 73.8 % in 2024.
“It’s not been an easy 10 years,” Wagner stated in a digital information convention. “The only thing I thought I did well was I didn’t blow a save for 10 years.”
The southpaw might be immortalized after a profession that completed with 422 saves (eighth-most ever), a 187 ERA+ that underscored his excellence and 1,196 strikeouts in 903 innings, an 11.9 Ks-per-nine-innings mark that’s the highest for any pitcher who logged 900 innings. His 2.31 profession ERA is the bottom amongst retired southpaws with not less than 500 innings pitched since 1920. He held opposing batters to a .187 common and easily was one of the vital troublesome pitchers to hit ever.
Wagner performed 9 seasons with the Astros — which possible would be the hat he’ll put on on his plaque — two with the Phillies and had stints with the Pink Sox and Braves. He loved a few of his greatest seasons with the Mets, with whom he pitched to a 2.37 and saved 101 video games (together with his three hundredth).
Steve and Alex Cohen congratulated Wagner, a local of small-town Virginia who acknowledged Queens was an adjustment however one that he’s completely happy he made.
“I joined the Mets because I knew that going to New York would be one way to try to get to the Hall of Fame,” Wagner stated. “And it wasn’t going to be straightforward if you received the best reliever, nearer [in Mariano Rivera] throughout city. However I additionally knew that the surroundings of New York, coming from a small city, was going to be troublesome, and I believe the Wilpons did an important job of defending me and my household with understanding what we have been up towards.
“… I truly enjoyed it. I hated to leave.”
Carlos Beltran, Wagner’s teammate from 2006-09 in Queens, fell brief at 70.3 % in his third yr of eligibility, however the now-Mets government seems to be a lock for eventual enshrinement.
within the ninth inning on April 21, 2002. AP
Beltran, who spent seven seasons with the Mets and three years with the Yankees, took a leap after receiving 57.1 % of the vote final yr. On benefit alone, Beltran belongs following a 20-year profession through which he reached 9 All-Star Video games, received three Gold Gloves, notched 435 house runs, 1,587 RBIs, an .837 OPS and posted terrific postseason numbers.
However his hyperlink to the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal from 2017 might need postponed his induction by a yr or two (and value him a job managing the Mets). Beltran is now a particular assistant to David Stearns within the Mets entrance workplace.
