Billy Wagner Improved Another Ex-Braves Closer's Hall of Fame Candidacy: Analyst
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Billy Wagner only spent one season of his MLB career with the Atlanta Braves. It was his final campaign in 2010.
Ironically, the 16-year reliever pitcher getting inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame this year could open the enshrinement door for a different long-time MLB closer who began his MLB career in Atlanta -- Craig Kimbrel.
The Athletic's Jayson Stark compared Wagner and Kimbrel along with other modern-day closers such as Kenley Jensen and Aroldis Chapman in a column on Jan. 30.
"The standard for Hall of Fame closers is basically: Column A) Mariano Rivera … and Column B) everybody else," wrote Stark. "So I disagree with some people, that Wagner has somehow lowered the standard for the Everybody Else population. But I do think he’s too comparable to those other three relievers to ignore where that could lead."
Stark concluded that which closer had the better career depends on one's preferred metric for measuring closers. Wagner finished second in ERA+ only to former New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, who is regarded as the greatest closer of all time. Wagner was also second to Rivera in opponent's OPS+.
But Kimbrel, Jansen and Chapman fared better in other analytical categories.
"If you adjust for the pitching climate of their times, there’s still some separation between Wagner and the rest of the pack. But guess what? You know who’s right behind Rivera and Wagner in each of those categories? Right. It’s Kimbrel, Jansen and Chapman," wrote Stark.
Kimbrel has earned 440 saves in his 15-year MLB career. Wagner finished with 422 in 16 campaigns.
Kimbrel's best seasons came with the Braves. He led the MLB in saves four consecutive years from 2011-14. After pitching for the San Diego Padres in 2015, Kimbrel joined the Boston Red Sox, where he made three more All-Star teams. He also earned All-Star nominations in 2021 and 2023.
Wagner made seven All-Star team while Kimbrel had nine nominations. Wagner had one more 30-save season, but he never led the league in saves as Kimbrel did four times.
In five seasons with the Braves, Kimbrel posted a 1.43 ERA and 186 saves. He pitched longer in Atlanta than with any other team. Boston is the only place besides Atlanta where Kimbrel accumulated at least 40 saves.
As they will be this summer with Wagner, there's a strong chance the Braves will one day be celebrating Kimbrel reaching Cooperstown.