Houston Astros Legend Gives Thoughts On His Hall of Fame Candidacy

Normally, when it comes to Hall of Fame type of players, it's fairly easy to see who will get voted into Cooperstown and receive the game's highest honor.

Things have gotten murky over the years with the Steroid Era guys hitting the ballot. Players who were on the fringe of getting inducted are now surefire things, while some of the best players ever have no chance of making it.

That's why the candidacy of Houston Astros' legend, Billy Wagner, is so strange.

Based on his numbers (first in opponent's batting average, first in strikeouts per nine innings, first in hits per nine innings, second in WHIP and the sixth-most saves of all time), Wagner should already be in.

But he's not, and there's no indication that he'll get the 75% vote threshold needed to be inducted after receiving 68.1% during his eighth year on the ballot.

So, with Wagner now in his penultimate year before his last chance to get in, he shared some thoughts about his candidacy with MLB.com.

"I’ve done everything I could. If I have to go out there and talk to you about pleading my case, I feel like, really, my numbers weren't good enough. I hope this is the year. … If it’s not, my life is not going to change. I’m still going to be a high school baseball coach," the left-handed closer said.

Wagner is agonizingly close and seemingly would get the nod from voters considering his dominance, yet he's not sure that will happen.

"I have no clear indication that [2024] will be the year. I talked to people who do some of the projections. They were like, 'Oh, this could be a nailbiter,'" he said.

Hopefully for him, the voters come around and decided to vote one of the best closers of all time into the Hall of Fame.