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Seven-time All-Star Billy Wagner received the game’s highest honor when he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame late last month, but the Houston Astros’ choice to retire his No. 13 carries a similar weight in his mind.
“Having your number put up in a rafter with the greats of the organization probably sits up there as being a Hall of Famer because you're representing a city, you're representing your team that you played for,” Wagner told the Associated Press. “It means a lot.”
On Saturday, Wagner became the 10th Astros player to have his number retired. Across nine seasons with Houston, Wagner tossed 504.1 innings, recorded 694 strikeouts, and posted a 2.53 ERA.
Wagner earned 1,196 career strikeouts and posted a 2.31 career ERA through 16 seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, and Astros.
Despite the fact that the Marion native made multiple stops throughout his MLB tenure, he chose to be inducted into the Hall of Fame as an Astro. His plaque even made the trek from Cooperstown for Saturday’s ceremony.
“It's still hard to look at myself in that fashion, especially when you see the guys in the Hall that have accomplished so much and I’ve looked up to,” Wagner told MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. “I don’t know if that will ever hit me. It’s neat to sign my name and put ‘HOF’ on it, but it’s definitely been different. I still haven’t let it sink in and I don’t know if it ever will.”
It has been a whirlwind summer for Wagner, and the team that drafted him in 1993 capped it off with a distinction he is not likely to forget.
