Houston Astros stars Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio had simple instructions for rookie reliever Billy Wagner when he was called up in 1995 — “Sit there. Don’t talk. If we need something, we’ll let you know.”
On Saturday, with Bagwell and Biggio sitting to his left, the Astros retired Wagner’s No. 13.
The ceremony culminated three weeks of what Wagner called “happy chaos” that started with his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 27.
“Having your number put up in a rafter with the greats of the organization probably sits up there as being a Hall of Famer because you’re representing a city, you’re representing your team that you played for,” Wagner said. “It means a lot.”
Wagner became the 10th Astros’ player to have his number retired, joining former Bagwell and Biggio, his teammates for the first nine seasons of his major league career, and who are the only other members of the Baseball Hall of Fame to be inducted as Astros.
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The 5-foot-10 pitcher was given the No. 13 as a joke by Abe Naff, his head coach at Division III Ferrum College in Virginia.
Wallace Chitwood, a tall, strike-throwing, soft-tossing pitcher, wore No. 13 before Wagner, who was a polar opposite.
“Thirteen has just been that unlucky lucky number,” Wagner said.
A first-round pick in 1993, Wagner spent the first nine of his 16 major league seasons with the Astros. Three of his seven All-Star selections were with the Astros, and he is the club’s saves leader with 225.
Wagner was traded to the Phillies after the 2003 season. He also pitched for the New York Mets, and Boston Red Sox before closing out his career with the Atlanta Braves in 2010, finishing that season with 37 saves and a 1.43 ERA.
“I was tired of having my groins wrapped. I was tired of getting Toradol shots in my back, and my ankles wrapped every day,” Wagner said. “It was easy at that time to walk away. When I tried to walk away it was with the understanding that I had done enough, and I liked being a dad.”
Wagner is fourth on career saves list with 422. His .187 opponent batting average is the lowest in baseball history among relievers.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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