Billy Wagner, a flamethrowing left-hander who was one of the elite closers of his generation, will take his place among the game’s greatest players of all-time after being elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in voting revealed Tuesday.

Billy Wagner received 82.5 percent of the tally from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, after he missed by just five votes last year.

In his 10th and final year on the ballot, former Astros closer Billy Wagner earned is place in Cooperstown, N.Y. in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

In Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner, the Baseball Writers Association delivered quite an eclectic trifecta to Cooperstown on Tuesday. The first Japanese player ever elected to the Hall of Fame,

Ichiro Suzuki missed unanimous election to the Baseball Hall of Fame by one vote Tuesday night when he headlined a three-player class selected by the 394 voting members of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

The BBWAA recognized CC Sabathia’s prolonged excellence by voting the former Yankees left-hander into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Suzuki nearly joined Mariano Rivera – a man tasked with pitching just one inning in almost all of his outings – as the only unanimous selections to the Hall. He received 393 of the 394 votes for a total of 99.

Suzuki is the first Japanese player chosen for baseball’s Hall of Fame, falling one vote shy of unanimous. NEW YORK (AP) — Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese player chosen for baseball’s Hall of Fame, falling one vote shy of unanimous when he was elected Tuesday along with CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner.

Billy Wagner’s wait for that one special call from the Baseball Hall of Fame was excruciating. After all, this was the fire-balling left-handed closer’s 10th and final year on the ballot. Tensions were high after missing enshrinement by just five votes last year,

Ichiro Suzuki had already cemented a strong, and likely everlasting baseball card market long before Tuesday’s almost unanimous vote for his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, headlining the class of 2025.

Call to the Hall, pond hockey, Novak's shot at history, NBA midseason grades, wild Bills-Chiefs stat, and more.