Every year, when the Baseball Hall of Fame announces voting results, majority of those tuned in usually feel two things: happiness or sadness. The happiness stems when the player one roots for makes the 75% voting mark. The sadness, however, arises in sympathy for those tenured veterans who seem deserving but fall short of being selected. And that's what plenty of MLB fans feel for Billy Wagner at the moment.
Wagner had a 73.8% rating, failing to reach an induction to Cooperstown by just five votes. The elite closer now wraps up his ninth year on the ballot, leaving him one more chance for enshrinement. Asked how he felt about the results, Wagner stated how the stars just didn't align year.
“I don't want to take away from (Adrian) Beltre and Joe (Mauer) and those guys who really earned that opportunity,” Wagner said, via MLB beat writer Brian McTaggart. “It's not in the cards (for me) this year. We'll just deal with this again next year.”
Throughout his 16 seasons, Wagner was named an All-Star seven times, tallying a total of 422 saves (sixth all-time among closers) and a 2.31 earned run average. Additionally, the left-hander amassed a total of 1,196 strikeouts.
During his tenure with the Houston Astros, Wagner won the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year award back in 1999. He also had three of his seven All-Star selections as a member of the team.
Regardless, it's been nine years of ballots, and the 52-year-old continues to wait for his name to be called. Still, Billy Wagner has one more shot at an induction, and fans surely hope that he finally gets his flowers in 2025.
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