Billy Wagner's immediate reaction to being snubbed from Baseball Hall of Fame

Once again, the Baseball Hall of Fame has snubbed Billy Wagner. The former Houston Astros closer came up just five votes short of getting inducted into Cooperstown, as he wound up with just a 73.8% rating, falling below the required 75% to make the cut.

The pitcher appeared on the latest edition of “Starkville: The Athletic Baseball Show” and gave his candid reaction to once again missing the chance to land in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

“Looking at who’s on that list, who’s gotten in — you know, this year was different than the year before, with the expectation it could be this year,” Wagner said. “Trying to stay as humble as possible and know that I don’t want to get too high and I don’t want to get too low, either.”

As Billy Wagner noted, he had a TV crew following him around as he waited for the call to arrive. Unfortunately, nothing came and Wagner has no other choice but to wait for next year — his final shot at being immortalized in baseball lore.

“It was a little bit more nerve-wracking than years in the past. I mean, you have NBC Nightly News down. They’re following you around, and waiting on that phone call. You know, I’m not going to lie. It was one of probably the most disappointing things that’s happened this far in my career,” Wagner added.

2024 is different for Billy Wagner

Currently the coach of The Miller School of Albemarle in Virginia, Wagner also candidly revealed how the snub became a valuable lesson for him as a coach. But he added that this year, being so close and all, felt “different” compared to the previous years.

“But it’s also, it was one of the best teaching moments I could ever have as a coach, because I had to sit here and take that disappointment and show these kids, who are standing there looking at me, that you can’t run, you just can’t be upset sometimes. You’ve just got to grin and bear it and move on. But by far and away, it was different than the years past.”

Wagner was named to the All-Star seven times through his 16 years in the MLB. In 1999, as a member of the Houston Astros, he took home the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year award. The left-hander has the sixth most saves of all time among closers with 422 and had a career ERA of 2.31. Furthermore, he tallied 1,196 strikeouts.