Former Phillies closer Billy Wagner falls 5 votes short of Hall of Fame election

Former Philadelphia Phillies closer Billy Wagner fell just short of election in his penultimate year on the National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.

Wagner received votes on 73.8% of ballots, but candidates need 75% to be elected. Adrian Beltre, Joe Mauer and Todd Helton will join manager Jim Leyland as those inducted into the Hall of Fame this summer. Wagner fell five votes short of being part of the class, according to USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale.

Of the five former Phillies on the ballot, Wagner received by far the highest vote total. Chase Utley came in a distant second with 28.8%, while both Jimmy Rollins and Bobby Abreu received votes on 14.8% of the vote. Slugger José Bautista — who played the final 27 games of his 15-year MLB career with the Phillies — fell off the ballot after getting votes from just 1.6% of voters. You need to get at least 5% each year to remain on the ballot.

In an attempt to return to the playoffs for the first time since 1993, the Phillies acquired Wagner in a trade with the Astros on Nov. 3, 2003, sending a trio of right-handed pitchers — Brandon Duckworth, Taylor Buchholz and Ezequiel Astacio — back to Houston in return.

Wagner was dominant across two seasons for the Phillies, recording 59 saves, while posting a 1.86 ERA and 2.59 FIP in 120 games. The flame-throwing lefty represented the Phillies at the 2005 MLB All-Star Game, a season he would finish with what was at the time a career-low 1.51 ERA in 70 games.

The Phillies went 86-76 in Wagner’s first season, ultimately finishing 10 games back of the Atlanta Braves in the NL East. Larry Bowa was dismissed as manager on the final weekend of the 2004 season, and ultimately replaced by Charlie Manuel. The Phillies went 88-74 in 2005, which under today’s rules would have allowed them to secure the second Wild Card in the NL. But back then, there was only one Wild Card spot per league, and Wagner’s former team, the Astros, edged the Phillies out for it, winning 89 games.

After the 2005 season, Wagner became a free agent, and the Phillies were said to have offered him a deal in the neighborhood of three years and “just more than $30 million” to retain him. Instead, Wagner accepted a larger contract from the division-rival New York Mets, who also landed star slugger Carlos Delgado that offseason.

Probably unfairly, Wagner became an enemy of fans at Citizens Bank Park, with only Scott Rolen and J.D. Drew garnering louder boos among visiting players at the time. Wagner’s Mets would win the NL East with 97 wins in 2006, ultimately finishing one win shy of the World Series, losing a classic NLCS Game 7 to the St. Louis Cardinals. However, the Phillies won five consecutive NL East titles beginning in 2007, with Wagner’s Mets collapsing late in both that and the 2008 campaign.

During that time, there were some classic battles between the Phillies and Mets, perhaps none better than the one that took place on Aug. 30, 2007 at Citizens Bank Park. In what may be the greatest game in the history of the stadium, Mets manager Willie Randolph brought in Wagner for a two-inning save attempt, with the Mets clinging onto a 10-8 lead. Wagner would give up a solo home run to Pat Burrell in the bottom of the eighth inning, and eventually surrendered a walk-off single to Chase Utley an inning later. This allowed the Phillies to complete a four-game sweep of the Mets and seize momentum heading into the final month of the season.

On this day in 2007, Chase Utley helped this Phillies complete a crucial sweep of the Mets by delivering a walk-off single off of Billy Wagner.

For my money, this is the best regular season game ever at CBP. pic.twitter.com/izRXsnK4Zl

— Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) August 30, 2023

Before his career concluded, Wagner had stints with the Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves as well. Wagner chose to retire after the 2010 season, a campaign in which he had 37 saves and was an All-Star for the Braves. Perhaps if he had hung on for a few more years, his counting numbers would have been slam-dunk for the Hall of Fame.

As is, Wagner is currently seventh in MLB history with 422 saves, although both Kenley Jansen and Craig Kimbrel will likely pass him this upcoming season. But his 2.31 ERA, 2.73 FIP and 24.0 WAR are all Hall of Fame-caliber numbers for a reliever, and it seems a significant number of voters have realized that.

In a 2017 interview, when Wagner didn’t seem to be gaining much traction on the Hall of Fame ballot, he had this to say on his Cooperstown case.

“Do I believe I’m a Hall of Famer? I would love to say yes, but when I say that it sounds like I’m bragging,” Wagner said. “It’s really not for me to say, but I had a great career that most can’t match.”

As it turns out, Wagner’s case has spiked since getting just 10.5% of the vote in 2016, his first cycle on the ballot. 2025 will be his final of 10 years on the ballot, and he appears to be on the cusp of election.

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