Just to be safe, Billy Wagner joked that he’ll throw bullpen pitches every few weeks.
“I’m just trying to not blow a save between now and January,” the former Mets closer said Tuesday before his former team hosts the Nationals to open a six-game home series before the All-Star break. “We’ll see how it goes over the next five rounds of voting.”
Wagner, who was at Citi Field for a visit with Mets alumni organized by Jay Horowitz, tried to keep the topic of his possible Hall of Fame induction as light as possible.
Nearly the entire 16-minute press conference focused on the possibility of a breakthrough in the 10th and final election.
In January, Wagner fell just five votes shy of being inducted into the Hall of Fame, becoming just the eighth relief pitcher to do so.
But despite posting a 1.43 ERA and making an All-Star Game with the Braves in 2010, he still doesn’t regret his decision to retire at age 39.
“I still had fuel left. The reason I retired was because of my kids,” said the 52-year-old Wagner, who compiled 422 saves and a 2.31 ERA in 16 major league seasons with the Astros, Mets, Phillies, Red Sox and Braves. “If you’re not a Hall of Famer because you played with kids, then you’re not a real Hall of Famer. The numbers were good enough. I had other responsibilities.”
He tries not to let it consume him.
Wagner keeps busy coaching high school baseball at The Miller School (Va.) and helping out at his alma mater, Ferrum College (Va.).
He prefers to think about how lucky he is to be so close, rather than about missing out on being part of this exclusive club.
“It’s very humbling,” said Wagner, then a red-hot left-handed pitcher. “Everybody said, ‘You’re going to lose by five votes.’ Nobody made it.” [while being that close]My life has taught me that no matter where I step, nothing is certain, so you know what’s going to happen? You just take it as it comes. I’m blessed to have this opportunity.”
He added: “I’m not saying I should be in the Hall of Fame, but it’s a situation where you have to sit back and be humble right away. You can’t get any more saves. You can’t get your ERA down. You can’t get any more strikeouts. So you’ve got to really teach your kids to be humble. Sometimes it sucks.”
Wagner declined to say which hat he would like to wear if elected to the Hall of Fame.
He played for the Mets from 2006-2009 but is best known for his time in the major leagues with the Astros, the team he played for from 1995-2003.
“I’m not there yet,” the seven-time All-Star said, “I’m just waiting for five more votes.”
