CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW/AP) – Tazewell native and current Miller School of Albemarle baseball coach Billy Wagner was shown on MLB Network breaking down crying the moment he got the phone call that he has been selected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. He joins Ichiro Suzuki… the first Japanese player ever selected… and CC Sabathia in this year’s Hall of Fame class. And while Ichiro and Sabathia were chosen on the first ballot of their eligibility, Wagner was chosen on his 10th and final try.

Speaking on an MLB Network interview after he got the call, Wagner said he was so emotional “when I think about what I represent from Division-3 to southwest Virginia to the state of Virginia, it’s such a blessing”.
He broke down on the interview when he thought about his wife and the journey she’s been through with him in a long MLB career. When asked by Bob Costas how he’ll hold up when giving his induction ceremony speech, Wagner replied, “I mean, my kids on the baseball team make fun of me all the time about crying with emotion, but this game has given me so much… I’m very grateful”.

Wagner pitched in the major leagues for 16 seasons, all in the bullpen, compiling a career 422 saves with an ERA of just 2.31. At Ferrum College, Wagner still holds the Division-3 career strikeout lead with 327 in 182.1 innings, and holds the NCAA single-season record for strikeout-per-9-innings of 19.1 in 1992. He was selected 12th overall in the first round of the 1993 Major League Baseball draft by the Houston Astros, and broke into the Major League for good in 1996. He was a natural right-hander as a kid, but got his right arm broken in a pickup football game. Shortly after that, he learned to pitch with his left hand which has taken him to the Hall of Fame.

The trio will be inducted into the Hall at Cooperstown on July 27 along with Dave Parker and Dick Allen, voted in last month by the classic era committee. Click here to watch Wagner’s MLB Network interview.