The Baseball Hall of Fame officially announced its 2024 class and while the three who made it are highly deserving, their one glaring omission is boiling my blood.
Legendary closer Bobby Wagner missed the 75 percent vote threshold to make it into the Hall by just five votes, according to BBWAA Vice President Bob Nightengale.
Billy Wagner fell 5 votes short.
Joe Mauer made it by 4 votes https://t.co/I57dcgC3EJ— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 23, 2024
Wagner’s non-admission is a testament to how silly and antiquated the Hall of Fame voters are.
Of the eight closers previously elected to the Hall, Wagner has more saves than all but three of them. His 422 saves puts him at sixth of all time, above Hall of Famers like Rollie Fingers and Goose Gossage. While Gossage and Fingers racked up significantly more innings than Wagner in an era where pitchers were allowed to throw more, Wagner still beats them in wins above replacement (WAR), a key statistic that measures how much better a player is than his replacement.
All of that is to say, he’s probably going to get in next year. But because the Baseball Writers Association of America, who vote on the Hall of Fame, have a weird gatekeeper mindset, many will choose not to vote for a player they believe ultimately belongs in the hall because they don’t believe it’s time yet.
For example, longtime Colorado first baseman Todd Helton finally made the cut this year in his sixth year on the ballot, receiving 79.7 percent of the vote. But Helton fell just short in 2023, receiving 72.2 percent of the vote in a year where the writers only voted in Scott Rolen. (RELATED: Angels Slugger Anthony Rendon ‘Literally Hates Baseball,’ According To Former Teammate)
CHICAGO – MAY 6: Billy Wagner #13 of the Philadelphia Phillies finishes off the Chicago Cubs in the bottom of the ninth inning on May 6, 2005 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. The Phillies defeated the Cubs 3-2. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON – SEPTEMBER 24: Billy Wagner #13 of the Atlanta Braves pitches against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on September 24, 2010 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
Yet this year Helton, who has been retired since 2013, made the cut. The percentage of votes cast for Helton jumped from 72.2 to 79.7 despite the fact that Helton is the same player this year he was last year, and the year before that. He’s hit no more home runs, won no more gold gloves, and yet seven percent more of the voters decided “this is the year for Todd.”
Why? What gives? If a guy deserves to be in today he deserved to be in yesterday. It’s that simple.
Am I partial to Wagner because he was a legendary closer on my New York Mets and I spent three years of my childhood watching him close out games? Yes. Does that make me wrong? Absolutely not.
Wagner falling short his ninth year on the ballot means next year he has to get in or he’s out forever (unless he’s voted in by a separate committee that votes in old timers way down the line). If a player is on the ballot for 10 years and doesn’t make it, that’s it, they’re donezo.
New York Mets Manager Willie Randolph about to remove Met closer Billy Wagner, #13 in the ninth inning during game 2 of the MLB National League Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals played at Shea Stadium in Flushing, N.Y. Cardinals defeated the Mets 9 – 6 on October 13, 2006. (Photo by Bryan Yablonsky/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TEXAS – OCTOBER 05: Billy Wagner asks Roberto Osuna #54 of the Houston Astros to sign a ball after throwing out the first pitch before Game 2 of the ALDS against the Tampa Bay Rays at Minute Maid Park on October 05, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
I for one can’t think of a more deserving candidate on next year’s ballot. If inducted, Wagner would be the Hall’s first left handed reliever.
So if Wagner doesn’t make it next year, which I highly expect him to, I am going to lose it.
I will lead a (peaceful) march on Cooperstown to demand the stodgy voters rethink their ridiculous unspoken rules and let the guys in who deserve it.