Ichiro Suzuki wants to raise a glass with the voter who chose not to check off his name on the Hall of Fame ballot.
At Ferrum College: went 17-3 with a 1.63 ERA and 327 strikeouts from 1991-93; earned Division III first-team All-America honors. Drafted: chosen by Houston in first round in 1993.
Billy Wagner had never been to Cooperstown. His closest brushes were trips in short-season A-ball to Oneonta, some 25 miles south in New York, to play road games in 1993, his first professional season in the Houston Astros’ system,
New York Mets catcher Paul Lo Duca, left, congratulates closer Billy Wagner by patting him on the cap after the Mets 4-3 win over the New York Yankees in 2006. Billy Wagner was unhittable as a pitcher and now he’s officially a baseball immortal.
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
Major league career: pitched for Houston, Philadelphia, New York Mets, Boston and Atlanta from 1995-2010; ranks eighth in MLB history with 422 saves; struck out 1,196 batters; had a 2.31 ERA.
When you mention rightfielder Ichiro Suzuki, left-handed pitcher CC Sabathia, and relief pitcher Billy Wagner, make sure you remember one thing... Hall of Famers, as the three honorees woke up in Cooperstown the morning of January 23rd to spend an afternoon at the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Suzuki, the first Japanese-born inductee, will be joined by longtime ace left-hander CC Sabathia and hard-throwing closer Billy Wagner, each of whom cruised ... Suzuki's close call means New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera remains the only unanimous ...
Suzuki came in first in terms of voting with 393, making history as the first Japanese-born player elected to the Hall of Fame. He was close to making history again as he was nearly unanimous– and he would have been in some pretty weighty company to share with Yankee legends Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter.
Sabathia, Suzuki and Wagner Get Their "Hall Pass" In Cooperstown Sabathia, Suzuki and Wagner Get In Cooperstown
It was a long time coming, but Billy Wagner finally closed it out. And he couldn’t keep the emotions from flowing. The seven-time All-Star, in his final year of eligibility, was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame with 82.5 percent of the vote.
The Athletic's Jayson Stark took a deep dive into the Hall of Fame chances for a couple modern day closers with Billy Wagner receiving enshrinement this year.