Former Astros Chances at Entering Hall of Fame

Billy Wagner

Known as “Billy the Kid” during his major league tenure for firing 100 mph bullets down the heart of the plate, Billy Wagner is very deserving of a spot and has time to make the jump to 75 percent. He is one of the most dominant closers of all-time and unlike everyone else on this list is most associated for his time with the Astros, having pitched for the team from 1995-2003.

Baseball-Reference compares him most to Aroldis Chapman which makes sense as they’re both hard throwing lefties with fastball-slider combos. It’s hard to remember considering most people associate 90’s-2000’s relief pitching with Mariano Rivera’s cutter or Trevor Hoffman’s changeup, but Wagner had 100 MPH heat with a devastating slider coming from the left side. Essentially he was Chapman before Chapman.

Wagner had six All-Star selections in his career and is sixth all-time in saves. He won’t be getting in this year but if he does get in eventually, it will most likely be as an Astro giving the team a third hall of famer.