Billy Wagner
| Billy Wagner | |||
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Wagner pitching for the Mets in 2007
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| Relief pitcher | |||
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Born: July 25, 1971 Tannersville, Virginia |
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| MLB debut | |||
| September 13, 1995, for the Houston Astros | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| October 3, 2010, for the Atlanta Braves | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 47–40 | ||
| Earned run average | 2.31 | ||
| Strikeouts | 1,196 | ||
| Saves | 422 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
William Edward Wagner (born July 25, 1971), nicknamed "Billy the Kid", is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He pitched for the Houston Astros (1995–2003), the Philadelphia Phillies (2004–2005), the New York Mets (2006–2009), the Boston Red Sox (2009), and the Atlanta Braves (2010). Wagner is one of only six Major League relief pitchers to accumulate a total of 400 or more saves in his baseball career.
Wagner was a natural-born right-handed person, but after breaking his right arm twice in accidents as a young boy, he taught himself to throw baseballs using his left arm by throwing balls against the wall of a barn, and then fielding the rebounds.
Wagner graduated from Tazewell High School in Tazewell, Virginia, compiling a .451 batting average, 23 stolen bases, 29 runs batted in, 116 strikeouts in 46 innings, a 7-1 pitching record and a 1.52 ERA in his senior season of baseball. He next attended Ferrum College, a small liberal arts college in Ferrum, Virginia. Wagner set single-season NCAA records for strikeouts per nine innings, with 19⅓ in 1992, and fewest hits allowed per nine innings, with 1.88.
In 2012, Wagner was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.
Wagner was selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft in June 1993 by the Houston Astros. He pitched exclusively as a starting pitcher in Minor League Baseball until his major league debut. In 1994, Wagner led all North American minor league pitchers in strikeouts, with 204. Wagner made his first Major League appearance with the Astros, as a late-season promotion from AAA baseball, on September 13, 1995, pitching against one batter late in a 10–5 defeat by the New York Mets. This was his only opportunity to pitch for the Astros that season.
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