Former Phillies Closer Falls Short of Hall of Fame Election
Former Philadelphia Phillies closer Billy Wagner fell short of election to the Baseball Hall of Fame once again after results of voting were released on Tuesday.
Wagner failed to receive the 75% of the vote needed from members of the Baseball Writers Association of America for election. Wagner has one more year of eligibility remaining. In fact, he fell five votes short.
Two other Phillies, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins, did not get the votes needed for induction.
The Class of 2024 will include Adrián Beltré, Joe Mauer and Todd Helton . Former manager Jim Leyland is already set for induction after he was elected by the Eras Committee in December. The induction ceremony is set for July 21 in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Among left-handed relievers, Wagner’s 422 career saves is second-highest and he is sixth all-time among all closers. His career 2.31 ERA is the lowest among retired left-handed pitchers with at least 500 innings pitched. His 14.95 single-season-strikeout-per-nine innings was the highest among relievers at the time of his retirement.
With Philadelphia in 2004 and 2005, Wagner went 8-3 with 59 saves and a 1.86 ERA.
Utley was on his first year on the ballot and will be on the ballot next year.
Utley was part of the Phillies’ 2008 World Series champions and spent 13 of his 16 years with the Phillies. He was a six-time All-Star, a four-time Silver Slugger and finished in the Top 10 in MVP voting three times. At the plate he slashed .275/.358/.465 with 1,885 hits, 411 doubles, 259 home runs, 1,025 RBI, 1,103 runs and 154 stolen bases.
Rollins was on his third year on the ballot.
Rollins spent 15 years with the Phillies and, like Utley, was part of the 2008 world champions. The three-time All-Star was the 2007 National League MVP, won four Gold Gloves and a Silver Slugger. He slashed a lifetime .264/.324/.418/.743 with 231 home runs and 936 RBI.
