Billy Wagner was the ultimate underdog. Undersized and coming from a broken home and an impoverished rural background, he channeled his frustrations into throwing incredibly hard—with his left hand, despite being a natural righty, for he broke his right arm twice as a child. Scouts overlooked him because he wasn't anywhere close to six feet tall, but they couldn’t disregard his dominance of collegiate hitters using a mid-90s fastball. The Astros made him a first-round pick, and once he was converted to a relief role, his velocity went even higher.
Wagner faces an uphill battle to get to Cooperstown, having received just 10.5% of the vote in 2016, a lower debut percentage than any player elected by the writers since they returned to annual balloting in 1966 With 10.2% in 2017, he’s in danger of slipping below the 5.0% threshold to remain on the ballot in any given year. As I’ve said in each previous cycle, I’m not ready to close the door on him. While JAWS guides my process, my concerns over its handling of relievers has led me to remain particularly open-minded in this area over the years, seeking alternative ways to evaluate them. At the moment, I wouldn’t bump a JAWS-approved candidate off my ballot to make room for him, but I’m not ready to dismiss the possibility that Wagner merits a spot, as his dominance in so many categories is difficult to ignore. - Sports Illustrated, 2017 from HOF expert Jay Jaffe
With three more years on the ballot, Wagner got 51% of the vote. Including a vote from Jay
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