Billy Wagner is one of baseball’s newest Hall of Famers, and he received another honor this week. The Houston Astros will retire his No. 13 this summer, the team announced Tuesday. The ceremony will be held on Saturday, Aug. 16. The Hall of Fame’s induction ceremony will take place on Sunday, July 27.
“Everything began here for me,” Wagner told MLB.com. “There’s a long winning history here. Really, it was pretty easy to say that. Most relievers bounce around a lot as I did, but to have nine years with those guys is pretty special.”
The Astros selected Wagner with the No. 12 overall pick in the 1993 amateur draft. He reached the big leagues in Sept. 1995, and within a year he was one of the most dominant relievers in baseball. During his nine seasons with Houston, Wagner posted a 2.53 ERA with 694 strikeouts in only 504 1/3 innings, and was a three-time All-Star. His 225 saves are the franchise record.
Wagner finished his career with the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, and Atlanta Braves. He retired with 422 saves, currently eighth most all-time, and he is the all-time leader in opponent’s batting average (.187) and strikeout rate (11.9 per nine innings). Wagner was voted into the Hall of Fame in his 10th and final year of eligibility this winter.
No. 13 will be the 11th retired number in Astros history, joining No. 5 (Jeff Bagwell), No. 7 (Craig Biggio), No. 23 (Jimmy Wynn), No. 25 (Jose Cruz), No. 32 (Jim Umbricht), No. 33 (Mike Scott), No. 34 (Nolan Ryan), No. 40 (Don Wilson), No. 49 (Larry Dierker), and the universally retired No. 42 (Jackie Robinson).
The Astros issued No. 13 many times following Wagner’s departure. In fact, free agent addition Christian Walker wore No. 13 during his introductory press conference in December, and was set to wear it beginning this season. Walker will now wear No. 8.
When the Astros launched the Astros Hall of Fame in 2019, they announced they would only retire the numbers of players in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, of which Wagner is now a member.
