Billy Wagner elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame
Wagner received 82.5 percent of the vote in his tenth and final year of eligibility
In his tenth and final year of eligibility on the BBWAA ballot, former Met LHP Billy Wagner was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday night.
Wagner received 82.5 percent of the vote and will join OF Ichiro Suzuki (99.7 percent) and LHP CC Sabathia (86.8 percent) as the three members elected on the BBWAA ballot in the class of 2025 and be inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 27 in Cooperstown, New York.
“Congratulations to Billy Wagner on baseball’s highest honor,” Mets owner and CEO Steve Cohen said in a statement. “He was a two-time All-Star during his four seasons in Queens and earned his 300th career save in a Mets uniform. Billy was one of the game’s dominant closers and will now be forever enshrined in the Hall of Fame.”
Wagner, a seven-time All-Star, had a 2.31 ERA in his career, which spanned 16 seasons with the Astros, Phillies, Mets, Red Sox, and Braves. He recorded 101 saves in four seasons with the Mets between 2006-2009, striking out 230 batters while allowing only 50 earned runs over 189.2 IP, compiling a 2.37 ERA as the club’s closer and helping the Mets to the 2006 NL East crown.
He ranks eighth all-time among relievers in MLB history with 422 saves. His 1,196 strikeouts rank ninth, his 11.9 strikeout-to-walk ratio is eighth, his 2.31 ERA second, 187 ERA+ second, and his 27.8 bWAR eighth.
Wagner, Suzuki and Sabathia will be enshrined alongside Dave Parker and Dick Allen, who were both elected via the Classic Baseball Era Committee during the Winter Meetings, as well as long-time baseball writer Thomas Boswell, who won the Ford C. Frick Award this year.
The Hall of Fame has 351 elected members, including 278 players, of whom 142 have come through the BBWAA ballot.
Meanwhile, Carlos Beltrán appeared on 70.3 percent of the ballots, about five percent short of the needed number for induction. David Wright received 8.1 percent of the vote.
