Billy the Kid finally got the call
Billy Wagner wasn't a natural southpaw. But his left arm took him to the Hall of Fame.
Billy the Kid is finally a Hall of Famer.
Billy Wagner, a standout closer and seven-time All-Star, was elected Tuesday to the Baseball Hall of Fame on his 10th and final time on the ballot after garnering more than 82% of the vote. He's entering the Hall alongside Ichiro (who somehow didn't get unanimously elected), C.C. Sabathia, Dave Parker and Dick Allen.
Wagner broke down when he received the long-awaited call. He tended to have that same effect on the hitters he faced.
Billy the Kid was an unlikely southpaw. He broke his right arm as a boy growing up in Virginia, and while his natural right arm was healing, he taught himself how to throw left-handed, and that left arm took him to the height of the baseball world.
He broke in with the Astros in 1995 and quickly became one of the league's most unhittable pitchers. His career WHIP (0.998), strikeouts per nine innings (11.9) and opponents' batting average (.187) are all among the all-time best. Only seven other pitchers have saved more games than Wagner's 422. He even used the same walk-up music, Metallica's "Enter Sandman," as the era's other most dominant relief pitcher, Mariano Rivera (Wagner started using it first).
Wagner was great for a long time and with lots of teams. After his meteoric rise with Houston, he starred for Philadelphia and the Mets before pitching in Boston and rounding out his career in Atlanta.
His first standout season was 1999, when he saved 39 games for a division-winning Astros team, struck out 124 batters and walked a miniscule 23.
His last season, 2010, he was just as stellar, saving 37 games and earning his final All-Star nod. The then-39-year-old could have hung on for another season or two, but he was committed to being a husband and dad full-time.
As he told me years ago for an interview for my book on his Astros teammate, Ken Caminiti, "I enjoyed baseball for what it was, but I didn't want that to define me as a dad or an individual. So when I retired, I was done."
All of these years later, and after coming up just short in previous Hall of Fame votes, Billy the Kid finally got the call.
United States of Baseball interview
I had the honor of chatting with Graig Mantle for The United States of Baseball. We talked about my baseball background, journey as a fan, and shifting perspectives on 1990s baseball. You can check out the interview here.