In his 10th and final year on the ballot, former Astros closer Billy Wagner earned is place in Cooperstown, N.Y. in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

On January 21, 2025, all-time great closer Billy Wagner was elected to the Hall of Fame. A version of this story originally ran in December 2020.

HOUSTON - Former Houston Astros pitcher Billy Wagner is headed to Cooperstown. Wagner was elected to the MLB Hall of Fame Class of 2025. Wagner will be officially inducted, along with Ichiro Suzuki and CC Sabathia, in Cooperstown, New York on Sunday, July 27.

After 10 attempts, former Astros closer Billy Wagner finally reached the Hall of Fame, joining Ichiro and CC Sabathia in the class of 2025.

Billy Wagner fell just five votes short of induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame last January, making 2025 his 10th and final eligible year on the ballot for enshrinement in Cooperstown. The former Houston Astros closer finally broke through Tuesday night.

Billy Wagner fell just short in his quest to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame last January. The legendary former Houston Astros closer projects to qualify for Cooperstown when the results for the class of 2025 are announced Monday night.

Ichiro Suzuki could join Mariano Rivera as the only unanimous picks for baseball’s Hall of Fame and CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner and Carlos Beltrán also could be elected when results of the writers’ voting are announced.

In his 10th and final year on the ballot, former Mets closer Billy Wagner finally garnered enough votes to take his rightful place in Cooperstown in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Billy Wagner’s wait for that one special call from the Baseball Hall of Fame was excruciating. After all, this was the fire-balling left-handed closer’s 10th and final year on the ballot. Tensions were high after missing enshrinement by just five votes last year,

Welcome to the Hall of Fame, Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner. It's a remarkable achievement to survive the gauntlet of baseball writers to get elected to Cooperstown: After all, the Baseball Hall of Fame remains the toughest to gain entry to,

The dust has settled on the election process of the 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame class. We now know that Ichiro Suzuki and CC Sabathia are first-ballot Hall of Famers while Billy Wagner made it in his 10th and final try.