SAN ANTONIO – Tuesday night’s announcement of the next inductees to the National Baseball Hall of Fame garnered plenty of interest from fans in the Lone Star State.
The former players on this year’s ballot included former Texas Rangers third baseman Adrián Beltré and former Houston Astros closer Billy Wagner.
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Only Beltré achieved 75% of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America votes to officially enter the Hall of Fame.
Beltré, who finished his career with 477 home runs and earned five Gold Gloves, had the highest percentage of BBWAA votes with 95.1%. He played for four teams, spanning 21 major league seasons, with a workmanlike approach to the game.
Beltré also played at least 110 games in 19 of his 21 seasons. He was in the right place at the right time when he joined the Rangers for the 2011 season.
Beltré helped Texas qualify for its second World Series appearance in as many seasons while also batting .296 with 32 home runs, 105 runs batted in, making the American League All-Star team and snagging his third career Gold Glove.
Wagner found himself as the odd man out again Tuesday. His name first appeared on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot in 2016 when he received 10.5% of the baseball writers’ votes. Beginning with the 2017 ballot, Wagner steadily earned more votes from year to year.
An NCAA Division III lefthander from Ferrum College in Virginia, the Astros used the 12th overall pick in the 1993 MLB Draft on Wagner, but he brought plenty of heat. His first nine seasons in the major leagues with the Astros were aided by a fastball that sometimes flirted and also topped 100 miles per hour. He finished his career with 422 saves, the sixth most in MLB history.
Wagner mustered 73.8% of BBWAA votes Tuesday, the highest percentage for a player to not earn election on this year’s ballot. During the live announcement, MLB Network broadcaster Bob Costas said Wagner was five votes short of election. Next year will be the last time Wagner will be eligible and on the ballot.
Beltré will be accompanied by longtime Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton (79.7% of votes), Minnesota Twins catcher/first baseman Joe Mauer (76.1% of votes) and former World Series winning manager Jim Leyland (Contemporary Baseball Era Committee election). They will all be inducted in a July 21 ceremony in Cooperstown, New York.