Billy the Kid is firing bullets for Houston here in 1996. Wagner had the reputation for wildness on his way to the big leagues, and was having trouble cracking the Astros' starting rotation. Houston Manager Terry Collins decided to try Wagner in the bullpen instead, and the rest is history!
Wagner's fastball was the stuff of legend. Despite measuring under 6' tall, he was able to generate impressive speed throwing with his less dominant hand. Wagner was born right handed, but broke his arm twice as a 7 year old, and started to throw left handed instead. He was clocked in the high 90s and averaged a little over 95 mph as a collegian. In 1996, his fastball was paired with a wicked slider. This led to 67 strikeouts in 51 innings. There was still concern about his control, as he walked 30 batters, but that would turn out to be his career high for free passes.
Wagner was the 12th Overall pick in the 1993, plucked out of Division III collegiate ball from Ferrum College in Virginia. Wagner probably could have been successful at any college, but was overlooked by the big name schools. In his Senior year of high school, he had eye-popping numbers at the plate and on the mound. He hit .451 and stole 23 bases, and pitched to a 7-1 record with a 1.52 ERA. He struck out 116 batters in just 46 innings pitched. The stat that mattered to scouts? His height, which was still just 5'5" as an 18 year old. At Ferrum, Wagner continued to blow away hitters, and set several NCAA records for strikeouts. He had a 19.1 K/9 his Sophomore season. After his Junior year, he spent the summer in the Cape Cod League, finally attracting the attention of big league scouts.
Wagner was still a starter throughout his minor league career, though he never made a major league start. With the Quad Cities River Bandits, Wagner topped 200 strikeouts in just 153 innings pitched, but had just an 8-9 record. The one knock on his game was his control. This was ultimately solved in the big leagues, but for stretches of time the walks would haunt Wagner.
As a relief pitcher, Wagner was incredible. The fastball/slider combo was devastating, and throughout his career Wagner blew away the competition. With Houston, he had a 12.4 K/9, striking out 694 batters in 504 innings and a 2.53 ERA. 1999 was probably his most appreciated season, as he was named the NL Rolaids Relief Pitcher of the year. In 74 and 2/3 innings, Wagner had 124 strikeouts and just 24 walks. His 1.53 ERA and 1.65 FIP were both career bests, and he locked down 39 saves for Houston.
Well, this is hubris on my part, as I just assumed I had Wagner Phillies cards, but his two seasons in Philly line up perfectly with years in which very little cardboard made it into my collection. For Philly, Wagner added on 59 career saves and pitched to a 1.86 ERA. He moved on to the New York Mets, and continued his assault on the record books. Wagner saved 101 games and once again had more strikeouts than innings pitched.
After a rough year in Boston in which he appeared in just 15 games, Wagner had a great final season with Atlanta at the age of 38. He had a career high 7 wins and an impressive 1.43 ERA to go with another 37 saves.
Wagner was probably the best reliever not named Mariano Rivera in the late 90s and throughout the 2000s. He greatly improved his control issues from the minors, and was a dominant force throughout his career. It seems that because he wasn't Rivera or Trevor Hoffman, he's been overlooked by Hall of Fame voters. He didn't exactly light the world on fire in the post season, and that may have had some impact on his candidacy over the years, but his 11.9 career k/9 and 422 saves are worth more than voting results in the low double digits. This past year, his vote total jumped from 16% to nearly 32%, still well short of the needed 75%. His career 187 ERA+ would have been 3rd best all-time, but he only pitched 903 innings and the minimum for the leaderboard is 1,000 innings. He trails only Rivera and Craig Kimbrel (who also is short of the 1,000 inning minimum). For comparison, Trevor Hoffman's ERA+ was a still tremendous 141. Wagner also surpasses Hoffman in career WHIP.
What do you think? Is Wagner a Hall of Famer? Do you have any great Wagner memories?
Can't say I have a huge opinion for or against his HOF nomination... but I will say that after reading your post definitely helped his case.
ReplyDeletePerhaps if he had a better entrance song to compete with "enter sandman" or "bell's bells" he have gained more attention for his hof worthy career
ReplyDeleteHe was right handed and switched to throwing as a lefty because he broke his arm twice? That is simply incredible. I've had shoulder trouble and have tried to learn to throw lefty ... it is NOT easy.
ReplyDeleteI've always enjoyed Wagner and hope he makes it in the HOF.
Based on his rate stats, he's a Hall of Famer. He'd be the first one to throw less than 1000 innings though, which I think really hurts his case.
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