1971
Born July 25, 1971
Marion, VA, USA
Billy Wagner Marquee Hall of Fame 2025
b. July 25, 1971 · Houston Astros 1995–2003, Philadelphia Phillies 2004–2005, New York Mets 2006–2009, Boston Red Sox 2009, Atlanta Braves 2010
That is 11.92 strikeouts per nine innings, fourth-highest of any pitcher with 800 innings in this archive, behind Aroldis Chapman, Craig Kimbrel and Kenley Jansen and ahead of everyone before them. He saved 422 games, eighth all-time, and went 47-40 over sixteen seasons and 853 appearances, all but one of them out of the bullpen.
He broke his right arm twice as a boy in rural Virginia and learned to throw with the other one, which is how a natural right-hander came to be a left-handed pitcher throwing a hundred miles an hour at five foot ten. He was chosen for six All-Star teams.
He was on the mound for part of the six-pitcher no-hitter Houston threw in June 2003, which has a page here. He appeared on ten writers' ballots, gaining ground each year, and was elected in his last year of eligibility in 2025.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 6 | 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008 |
| Reliever of the Month | 1 | 2007 |
| Reliever of the Year Award | 1 | 1999 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | HOU | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1996 | HOU | 37 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 |
| 1997 | HOU | 62 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1998 | HOU | 58 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .333 |
| 1999 | HOU | 66 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2000 | HOU | 28 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 |
| 2001 | HOU | 64 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2002 | HOU | 70 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 |
| 2003 | HOU | 78 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2004 | PHI | 46 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 |
| 2005 | PHI | 75 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .333 |
| 2006 | NYM | 70 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2007 | NYM | 66 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2008 | NYM | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2009 | BOS/NYM | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2010 | ATL | 71 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Career | — | 854 | 20 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 0 | .100 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | HOU | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 1996 | HOU | 2 | 2 | 37 | 0 | 9 | 51.2 | 28 | 14 | 30 | 67 | 2.44 |
| 1997 | HOU | 7 | 8 | 62 | 0 | 23 | 66.1 | 49 | 21 | 30 | 106 | 2.85 |
| 1998 | HOU | 4 | 3 | 58 | 0 | 30 | 60.0 | 46 | 18 | 25 | 97 | 2.70 |
| 1999 | HOU | 4 | 1 | 66 | 0 | 39 | 74.2 | 35 | 13 | 23 | 124 | 1.57 |
| 2000 | HOU | 2 | 4 | 28 | 0 | 6 | 27.2 | 28 | 19 | 18 | 28 | 6.18 |
| 2001 | HOU | 2 | 5 | 64 | 0 | 39 | 62.2 | 44 | 19 | 20 | 79 | 2.73 |
| 2002 | HOU | 4 | 2 | 70 | 0 | 35 | 75.0 | 51 | 21 | 22 | 88 | 2.52 |
| 2003 | HOU | 1 | 4 | 78 | 0 | 44 | 86.0 | 52 | 17 | 23 | 105 | 1.78 |
| 2004 | PHI | 4 | 0 | 45 | 0 | 21 | 48.1 | 31 | 13 | 6 | 59 | 2.42 |
| 2005 | PHI | 4 | 3 | 75 | 0 | 38 | 77.2 | 45 | 13 | 20 | 87 | 1.51 |
| 2006 | NYM | 3 | 2 | 70 | 0 | 40 | 72.1 | 59 | 18 | 21 | 94 | 2.24 |
| 2007 | NYM | 2 | 2 | 66 | 0 | 34 | 68.1 | 55 | 20 | 22 | 80 | 2.63 |
| 2008 | NYM | 0 | 1 | 45 | 0 | 27 | 47.0 | 32 | 12 | 10 | 52 | 2.30 |
| 2009 | BOS/NYM | 1 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 15.2 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 26 | 1.72 |
| 2010 | ATL | 7 | 2 | 71 | 0 | 37 | 69.1 | 38 | 11 | 22 | 104 | 1.43 |
| Career | — | 47 | 40 | 853 | 0 | 422 | 903.0 | 601 | 232 | 300 | 1196 | 2.31 |
On this day & linked events
1995
Major-league debut: Billy Wagner
Billy Wagner made a major-league debut on September 13, 1995.
2003
Houston Astros Combined No-Hitter, 2003
Roy Oswalt, Peter Munro, Kirk Saarloos, Brad Lidge, Octavio Dotel and Billy Wagner threw a combined no-hitter for the Houston Astros against the New York Yankees on June 11, 2003, winning 8–0.
2010
Final major-league game: Billy Wagner
Billy Wagner played a final major-league game on October 3, 2010.
Image: User Metsfan7 on en.wikipedia, public domain