In his 10th and final year on the ballot, former Astros closer Billy Wagner earned is place in Cooperstown, N.Y. in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

On January 21, 2025, all-time great closer Billy Wagner was elected to the Hall of Fame. A version of this story originally ran in December 2020.

Billy Wagner fell short of election to the Baseball Hall of Fame last year in agonizing fashion. Five votes separated the former Houston Astros closer from securing a place in Cooperstown in his penultimate appearance on the writers’ ballot.

After 10 attempts, former Astros closer Billy Wagner finally reached the Hall of Fame, joining Ichiro and CC Sabathia in the class of 2025.

The distance from Ferrum, Virginia to Cooperstown, New York is a road far longer than just the miles between the two small towns.For Billy Wagner, it's a journe

Billy Wagner, a flame-throwing left-hander who was one of the elite strikeout artists of his generation, will take his place among the game’s greatest players of all time after being elected to the Na

Wagner, one of the game's all-time great relievers, made the cut during the final year of his eligibility on the Baseball Writers Association of America ballot, receiving 82.5% of the vote. Wagner would've been removed from the ballot if he didn't meet the voting requirement in 2025, and it's clear just how much it meant to him to get the nod.

Billy Wagner fell just five votes short of induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame last January, making 2025 his 10th and final eligible year on the ballot for enshrinement in Cooperstown. The former Houston Astros closer finally broke through Tuesday night.

The five newcomers, including Ichiro Suzuki and CC Sabathia, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 27, 2025, in Cooperstown, New York.

The Baseball Hall of Fame will welcome three deserving new members, but some exclusions still haunt the shrine.

Ichiro Suzuki became the first player born in Japan to be inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday night. Falling just one vote shy of a unanimous induction, Ichiro is a