The new members of the 2025 American Baseball Hall of Fame were announced, except for Ichiro Suzuki and CC Sabathia, who passed the 75% voting threshold for the first time, Billy Wagner, who was finally selected for the 10th time, was moved to tears.

Wagner couldn't contain his excitement when he first received the Hall of Fame notice, after all, this was the last time he passed the American Baseball Writers Guild vote, and if he didn't cross the threshold, there would be only one way to the Hall of Fame Senior Committee, and it would take a few more years.

Wagner's first and foremost thanks is his wife, "She's been involved in almost everything I've been through, from college to minor leagues, and we've been together all the good times and hard times, and I wouldn't be here without her."

It is worth mentioning that Wagner was a starting pitcher in the minor leagues for 3 years before he went to the major leagues, but he did not start a single game in his major league career, and after being told that he was a new member of the Hall of Fame, he said in an interview: "I like to be in the bullpen because it allows me to pitch every day, and it also allows me to stay on the court, and if I am a starting pitcher, I have 4 days off, and I don't know how I am going to adjust myself, I will go crazy, so the backup pitcher is a good fit for my personality."

Wagner's 16-year major league career began with the Astros, and after 9 years of play, he moved to the Phillies and Mets, Red Sox, and Astros, playing all 853 games in his career as a backup, including 703 shutdowns, scoring 422 rescue attempts, a 2.31 ERA percentage, and a staggering 1,196 strikeouts in 903 innings.

According to the data, Wagner's career strikeouts were the most left-handed backup pitchers in history, and it was not until last year that he was surpassed by Aroldis Chapman, a Cuban missile who played for the Pirates at the time, but he has pitched at least 900 innings in history, whether it is a starter or a backup, K/9 value of 11.9, batting percentage of 1 to 87, and 5.99 hits per 9 innings are all ranked first in history, and the percentage of on-base per game is 0.997 and the opponent's attack index of 0.558 is also the second highest.

Wagner is best known for playing American football and baseball as a student, but he suffered two fractures in his right hand while playing American football, which made him start throwing with his left hand, and as a result, he was favored by scouts in high school with amazing results, and was finally drafted by the Astros with the 12th pick in the first round in 1993.

Looking back on the past, Wagner says he's grateful to the friend who hurt him back then, but he doesn't say who it is, only Chip's name.

"I'm a big fan of Chip right now, and who would have thought that a kid across the street would sit on my right arm while playing American football with me at my grandmother's house, and the next thing is, I'm a Hall of Famer now?" Wagner said.

Finally, Wagner explained the importance of the finisher and the intense pressure of pitching in the 9th inning. "When the game comes to the end, which is the ninth inning, you are the last person to play, you have to win three outs, you don't have a net behind you to catch you, you don't have anyone behind you, of course anyone can play in the ninth inning, but not everyone can do it consistently."