Billy Wagner is taking nothing for granted. Although he’s trending toward being elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the seven-time All-Star remains hesitant to get too excited. He fell five votes shy of election last year, after all, and that snub still burns the proud lefty.
Nonetheless, it’s clear that he hopes to have an Astros cap on his Hall of Fame plaque in Cooperstown, N.Y., in July if he’s elected. The Baseball Hall of Fame will announce the results of the 2025 Baseball Writers’ Association of America election on Tuesday night on MLB Network.
Wagner spent nine of his 16 years in the majors with the Astros, who traded him to the Philadelphia Phillies after the 2003 season. The hard-throwing left-hander is the Astros’ all-time saves leader with 225 of his 422 career saves coming in a Houston uniform.
Wagner played two seasons in Philadelphia and parts of four with the New York Mets. He was traded from the Mets to the Red Sox at the end of the 2009 season. Then he spent his final All-Star season with the Braves in 2010 before retiring to focus on helping his wife raise their kids.