Billy Wagner compiled 422 saves in a highly-successful 16-year career with the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves.
Wagner ranks sixth all-time behind Mariano Rivera (652), Trevor Hoffman (601), Lee Smith (478), Francisco Rodriguez (437) and John Franco (424).
Wagner earned 225 of those saves in nine seasons with the Astros and 59 saves in two seasons with the Phillies.
Players need 75 percent of the votes for induction into the Hall of Fame and Wagner is so close with nearly 73 percent on the submitted ballots. An announcement will come Tuesday.
It looks promising for the hard-throwing left-hander.
It should also happen.
Wagner deserves to be in Cooperstown.
He’s one of seven pitchers in history with double-digit seasons of 25 or more saves. He’s also one of six pitchers ever to record more than 1,000 strikeouts in less than 1,000 innings.
The seven-time All-Star recently appeared on “Sports Talk Chicago” and defended his Hall of Fame status.
“It’s not an unbiased vote if you’re voting and saying it’s numbers. It’s not,” Wagner said on the show. “It’s obviously like/dislike. The only thing I can say is I’ve always been accountable for good, bad, indifferent as I took responsibility for my actions. I was always there at my locker to present the good and the bad with interviews. But, numbers wise, there’s no case to be made for (not being in) the Hall of Fame if we’re gonna talk about numbers.
“If we’re gonna talk about sainthood, or how politically correct I was all the time in an interview, then I’m sure I shouldn’t be in there. But I don’t think there was ever anyone who didn’t enjoy sitting at my locker waiting for an interview because I was giving one. Whether you liked it or not, I was there.”
Wagner makes so many great points.
When he took the mound as a closer, he was nearly unhittable over a lengthy career.
It’s time he gets the call to Cooperstown.
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