Billy Wagner won in the final round.
In his 10th and final vote, the former Mets closer earned what would be his 423rd save, tying him with Ichiro Suzuki and CC Sabathia (in addition to Dave Parker and Dick Allen, who were already selected) for a 75 percent mark. Cleared the criteria. As an admission to Cooperstown.
Wagner, who received 82.5 percent of the votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America after missing out last year by just five votes, exhaled and burst into tears as seen on video.
The Dodgers are scheduled to conclude Game 2 of the NLDS on October 5, 2006. AP
“It felt like the clock had stopped,” Wagner said of receiving the phone call she had been waiting for 10 years.
Wagner needed a steady climb to get over the hump. In 2016, he received just 10.5% of the vote. It started to rise in the fifth year (31.7%), and since then it has increased its ranking every year, reaching 73.8% in 2024.
“It hasn't been an easy decade,” Wagner said during a virtual press conference. “The only thing I thought I did well was not making a save in 10 years.”
The southpaw is immortalized after a career that ended with 422 saves (8th all-time), a 187+ ERA that underpinned his excellence, and 1,196 strikeouts in 903 innings (an all-time record of 11.9 Ks per nine innings). He will leave his name behind. A pitcher who logged 900 innings. His lifetime ERA of 2.31 is the lowest of any retired southpaw who pitched at least 500 innings since 1920. He held opposing batters to a .187 average and was simply one of the hardest pitchers to hit in history.
Wagner played nine seasons with the Astros, which will probably be the hat he wears on his medal, but he also played two seasons with the Phillies and played with the Red Sox and Braves. He had his best season with the Mets, posting a 2.37 batting average and 101 games (including 300 saves).
Steve and Alex Cohen congratulated Wagner, who hails from a small town in Virginia, and admitted that although there were some adjustments to be made against Queens, they were happy with what they accomplished.
“I joined the Mets because I knew going to New York was one way to get into the Hall of Fame,” Wagner said. “And when you get a great reliever, a closer, it couldn’t have been easier.” [in Mariano Rivera] On the other side of town. But coming from a small town, I knew the New York environment would be difficult. I think Wilpons understood what we were facing and did a great job protecting me and my family.
“…It was really fun. I hated leaving.”
Carlos Beltrán, Wagner's teammate at Queen's from 2006 to 2009, missed 70.3 percent in his third year of eligibility, but the player now in the Mets executive ranks as the final This seems to be the key to his appointment.
Bottom of the 9th inning on April 21, 2002. AP
Beltran, who spent seven seasons with the Mets and three years with the Yankees, rose to prominence after receiving 57.1% of the vote last year. On the merits, Beltran appeared in nine All-Star Games, won three Gold Gloves, hit 435 home runs, 1,587 RBIs, and posted an .837 OPS after a 20-year career in which he posted impressive postseason numbers. Belongs to.
However, his involvement in the Astros' sign-stealing scandal in 2017 may have delayed his appointment for a year or two (and cost him his job as Mets manager). Beltran currently serves as a special assistant to David Stearns in the Mets' front office.