Philadelphia Phillies: Cases and chances for Hall of Fame eligible stars

Former Philadelphia Phillies closer Billy Wagner has a chance to make the HOF

Billy Wagner is getting more attention from Hall of Fame voters, and rightfully so.

With 28.3 percent of votes in, Wagner 48.2 percent (54) of the vote. He has a net of 13 new votes this year, adding 15 and losing two. The two writers who dropped Wagner voted for 10 players, adding either Andruw Jones, Todd Helton, or Scott Rolen instead.

Wagner is gaining ground, up from 31.7 percent last year, but he needs to get 85.6 percent of the remaining votes to get in this year. That’s highly unlikely, but support for his candidacy is picking up after starting with just 10.5 percent in his first year.

He’ll have four more years to make up the remaining votes, and if those undecided or unfavorable voters need any evidence that he belongs, here it is.

Wagner finished his career on a high note with the Atlanta Braves, saving 37 games with a 1.43 ERA at the age of 38. If he wanted to he could have kept going and maybe padded his career numbers even more, but where he finished might be enough.

Wagner has a career 2.31 ERA with 422 saves, 1,196 strikeouts, and a 27.7 WAR.

Those 422 saves are the sixth-most in baseball history, better than Hall of Fmares Dennis Eckersley, Goose Gossage, and Rollie Fingers.

Wagner had 12 seasons with at least 20 saves and nine with at least 30. Only five players have had nine seasons with at least 30 saves: Wagner, Joe Nathan, Lee Smith, Mariano Rivera, and Trevor Hoffman.

Smith, Hoffman, and Rivera are the only players to have as many 20 save seasons as well.

Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers had only 10 seasons with at least 20 saves and only two with 30.

It’s hard to measure him with the total save numbers that Rivera and Hoffman have considering they’re the only two players with more than 500 saves, both of which having more than 600. Wagner also pitched in several hundred fewer games, but his career averages are right there with the two greats.

Wagner’s WHIP, H/9, and HR/9 are either the same or better than Rivera and Hoffman.

Despite pitching in far fewer games than Rivera and Hoffman, Wagner has more strikeouts than both of them. On top of that in the overall context of baseball history, Wagner’s career 11.9 K/9 is the best in baseball history (750 IP).

It may not be completely fair to compare Wagner’s numbers with players from earlier generations where bullpens weren’t used as much. But if you compare the cumulative and consistent results with the modern era closers, Wagner is there.