Houston Astros Legend Falls Short of Hall of Fame Election
Former Houston Astros reliever Billy Wagner’s wait to become a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame will go at least one more year.
Major League Baseball announced the full class on Tuesday during a shot on MLB Network.
The Class of 2024 will include Adrián Beltré, Joe Mauer and Todd Helton. Former manager Jim Leyland is already set for induction after he was elected by the Eras Committee in December.
The induction ceremony is set for July 21 in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Wagner fell short of the 75% of the vote needed from the members of the Baseball Writers Association of America. He missed election by five votes.
Last year Wagner fell short of induction as he received 68.1% of the vote.
All isn’t lost if Wagner doesn’t make it this year. But, as this is his ninth year on the ballot, 2025 would represent his last opportunity to make it through the normal BBWAA process.
Closers are a rarity in the Baseball Hall of Fame, but Wagner has tremendous credentials.
Among left-handed relievers, Wagner’s 422 career saves is second-highest and he is sixth all-time among all closers. His career 2.31 ERA is the lowest among retired left-handed pitchers with at least 500 innings pitched. His 14.95 single-season-strikeout-per-nine innings was the highest among relievers at the time of his retirement.
With Houston, he had 225 and went 26-29, earning three All-Star Game berths and the 1999 Rolaids Relief Man of the Year award. That season he had 39 saves, went 4-1 and finished fourth in National League Cy Young voting. He is already in the Astros Hall of Fame and spent nine years with Houston.
Wagner also played for Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta and the New York Mets and was a seven-time All-Star.
Recently, Wagner got endorsements for his candidacy from former teammates Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio, along with former players Tom Glavine and Chipper Jones. All are in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
