Miller School Baseball Coach and Tazewell Native Billy Wagner was Inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame

Miller School Baseball Coach and Tazewell Native Billy Wagner was Inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame

Tazewell native and present Miller School of Albemarle baseball coach Billy Wagner was shown on MLB Network breaking down crying when he received the call telling him that he was selected to be inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. Wagner joins Ichiro Suzuki… the first Japanese player to be selected… as well as CC Sabathia in this year’s Hall of Fame class. While Ichiro, as well as Sabathia, were picked by the first vote of their ability to be eligible, Wagner was chosen on his 10th and last attempt.

In the MLB Network interview after he received the call, Wagner said he was extremely emotional “When I think about what I represent from Division-3 to southwest Virginia to the state of Virginia, it’s such a blessing”.
He broke down during the radio interview as he thought of his wife and all the things she’s shared with him throughout his long MLB career. When Bob Costas asked him what he’d be like during his induction ceremony address, Wagner replied, “I mean, my kids on the baseball team make fun of me all the time about crying with emotion, but this game has given me so much… I’m very grateful”.
Wagner pitched in Major Leagues over 16 years, mostly in the bullpen. He compiled 422 saves for his career, along with an ERA of only 2.31. At Ferrum College, Wagner still holds the Division-3 career strikeout lead with 327 in 182.1 innings and holds the NCAA single-season record for strikeout-per-9-innings of 19.1 in 1992.

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Wagner was picked 12th overall during the first draft of 1993’s Major League Baseball draft by the Houston Astros, and broke into the Major League for good in 1996. He was a natural right-handed pitcher in his youth however, he suffered a right arm injury in a football match during a pick-up. After that, he began to learn how to pitch using his left hand, which has led into the Hall of Fame.
They will all be inducted into Cooperstown’s Hall in Cooperstown on the 27th of July alongside Dave Parker and Dick Allen who were voted in earlier this month by the committee of the classic era.