What years did Billy Wagner play?

Billy Wagner played in Major League Baseball from 1995 to 2010.

Was Billy Wagner a pitcher?

Yes. Billy Wagner pitched in the major leagues, recording 47 wins and 1196 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Billy Wagner hit?

Billy Wagner hit 0 career home runs with 2 hits.

What teams did Billy Wagner play for?

Billy Wagner played for 5 teams: the Houston Astros (1995–2003), the Philadelphia Phillies (2004–2005), the New York Mets (2006–2009), the Boston Red Sox (2009), and the Atlanta Braves (2010).

Did Billy Wagner win a Cy Young Award?

No. Billy Wagner did not win the Cy Young Award.

What awards did Billy Wagner win?

Billy Wagner was selected to 6 All-Star Games.

What were Billy Wagner's career stats?

In 853 games, Billy Wagner went 47-40 with a 2.31 ERA, 1,196 strikeouts, 903.0 innings pitched, and 422 saves.

What was Billy Wagner's salary?

Billy Wagner's last recorded salary was $6,750,000, in 2010. His highest recorded salary was $10,500,000, in 2006, and his lowest was $109,000, in 1995. The Salary History table lists each season from 1995 to 2010.

What position did Billy Wagner play?

Billy Wagner played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Billy Wagner and how much did he weigh?

Billy Wagner was listed at 5 feet 10 inches and 180 pounds.

What was Billy Wagner's career ERA?

Billy Wagner finished with a 2.31 career ERA, going 47-40 with 1,196 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Billy Wagner have?

Billy Wagner recorded 1,196 career strikeouts.

Billy Wagner

Pitcher · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (1995-2010)

Billy Wagner was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1995 to 2010 for 5 teams, including the Houston Astros, a span of 16 seasons. Across 853 career appearances, he went 47-40 with a 2.31 ERA, 1,196 strikeouts, and 422 saves. Billy Wagner was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2025 and was a 6-time All-Star and a Reliever of the Year. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 38469.9.

W (Wins):: Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):: Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):: For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):: Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated October 15, 2026

⭐ Hall of Fame 2025

W–L 47–40

ERA 2.31

WHIP 1.00

SO 1,196

Pitcher PIV 38469.9

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: L / L
Height / Weight: 5'10" / 180 lb
Born: 7/25/1971 in Marion, VA, USA
MLB Debut: 1995-09-13
Last Game: 2010-10-03
Hall of Fame: Inducted 2025 (BBWAA)
Awards: 6× All-Star · Reliever of the Year

Full name: William Edward Wagner

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Career Pitching Statistics

Billy Wagner — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
47	40	853	0	0	0	422	903.0	601	232	82	300	1,196	2.31	38469.9

Career ERA 2.31 vs. league average 4.43 across their career seasons — 47.8% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Billy Wagner Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1995	HOU	NL	0	0	1	0	0.1	0	0	0	0	0.00	—	0.0
1996	HOU	NL	2	2	37	9	51.2	28	14	30	67	2.44	4.61 (+47%)	792.5
1997	HOU	NL	7	8	62	23	66.1	49	21	30	106	2.85	4.39 (+35%)	3368.4
1998	HOU	NL	4	3	58	30	60.0	46	18	25	97	2.70	4.43 (+39%)	3000.3
1999	HOU	NL	4	1	66	39	74.2	35	13	23	124	1.57	4.71 (+67%)	5801.8
2000	HOU	NL	2	4	28	6	27.2	28	19	18	28	6.18	4.77 (-30%)	-843.9
2001	HOU	NL	2	5	64	39	62.2	44	19	20	79	2.73	4.42 (+38%)	2627.3
2002	HOU	NL	4	2	70	35	75.0	51	21	22	88	2.52	4.28 (+41%)	2835.6
2003	HOU	NL	1	4	78	44	86.0	52	17	23	105	1.78	4.40 (+60%)	3706.1
2004	PHI	NL	4	0	45	21	48.1	31	13	6	59	2.42	4.46 (+46%)	2459.5
2005	PHI	NL	4	3	75	38	77.2	45	13	20	87	1.51	4.29 (+65%)	3192.9
2006	NYN	NL	3	2	70	40	72.1	59	18	21	94	2.24	4.53 (+51%)	3091.0
2007	NYN	NL	2	2	66	34	68.1	55	20	22	80	2.63	4.47 (+41%)	2390.3
2008	NYN	NL	0	1	45	27	47.0	32	12	10	52	2.30	4.32 (+47%)	1969.2
2009	NYN	NL	0	0	2	0	2.0	0	0	1	4	0.00	—	0.0
2009	BOS	AL	1	1	15	0	13.2	8	3	7	22	1.98	4.32 (+54%)	595.1
2010	ATL	NL	7	2	71	37	69.1	38	11	22	104	1.43	4.08 (+65%)	3483.6
Career · 17 seasons			47	40	853	422	903.0	601	232	300	1,196	2.31	—	38,470

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Billy Wagner — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
854	20	1	2	0	0	0	1	0	1	12	.100	.143	.100	.243	0

Career AVG .100 vs. league average .266 across their career seasons — 62.4% below league average.

Career OBP .143 vs. league average .335 across their career seasons — 57.4% below league average.

Career SLG .100 vs. league average .422 across their career seasons — 76.3% below league average.

Career OPS .243 vs. league average .758 across their career seasons — 67.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Billy Wagner Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1995	HOU	NL	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1996	HOU	NL	37	5	0	0	0	0	2	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1997	HOU	NL	62	1	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1998	HOU	NL	58	3	0	1	0	0	2	.333	—	—	—	—	0.0
1999	HOU	NL	66	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2000	HOU	NL	28	2	0	0	0	0	2	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2001	HOU	NL	64	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2002	HOU	NL	70	2	0	0	0	0	2	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2003	HOU	NL	78	2	1	0	1	1	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2004	PHI	NL	46	2	0	0	0	0	2	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2005	PHI	NL	75	3	0	1	0	0	2	.333	—	—	—	—	0.0
2006	NYN	NL	70	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2007	NYN	NL	66	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2008	NYN	NL	45	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2009	NYN	NL	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2009	BOS	AL	15	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2010	ATL	NL	71	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 17 seasons			854	20	1	2	1	1	12	.100	—	—	—	—	0

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Billy Wagner — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
14	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Billy Wagner — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AVG
2010	NLDS2	ATL	1	.000
2009	ALDS2	BOS	2	.000
2006	NLCS	NYN	3	.000
2006	NLDS1	NYN	3	.000
2001	NLDS1	HOU	2	.000
1999	NLDS1	HOU	1	.000
1998	NLDS2	HOU	1	.000
1997	NLDS2	HOU	1	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Billy Wagner — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1	1	14	0	3	11.2	21	13	2	13	10.03

Playoff Pitching by Year

Billy Wagner — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
2010	NLDS2	ATL	0	0	1	0	0.1	1	0	0	0	0.00
2009	ALDS2	BOS	0	0	2	0	1.0	2	2	1	2	18.00
2006	NLCS	NYN	0	1	3	1	2.2	7	5	1	0	16.88
2006	NLDS1	NYN	0	0	3	2	3.0	3	1	0	4	3.00
2001	NLDS1	HOU	0	0	2	0	1.2	1	1	0	3	5.40
1999	NLDS1	HOU	0	0	1	0	1.0	0	0	0	1	0.00
1998	NLDS2	HOU	1	0	1	0	1.0	4	2	0	1	18.00
1997	NLDS2	HOU	0	0	1	0	1.0	3	2	0	2	18.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1707 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Billy Wagner — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	461	10	1	1	0	1	.100
Away	393	10	0	1	0	0	.100

Pitching — Home / Away

Billy Wagner — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	460	487.1	332	139	149	613	2.57
Away	393	415.2	269	93	151	583	2.01

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Billy Wagner — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
2010-10-03	ATL	PHI	SV	1.1	2	1	1	1	4
2010-09-29	ATL	MIA	—	1.0	0	0	0	1	1
2010-09-28	ATL	MIA	SV	1.0	0	0	0	1	3
2010-09-27	ATL	MIA	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	2
2010-09-25	ATL	WAS	—	1.0	1	0	0	0	1
2010-09-24	ATL	WAS	—	1.0	1	1	0	1	3
2010-09-18	ATL	NYN	SV	1.0	0	0	0	0	3
2010-09-17	ATL	NYN	SV	1.0	0	0	0	0	1
2010-09-13	ATL	WAS	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	3
2010-09-11	ATL	STL	—	1.0	0	0	0	1	1

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Billy Wagner — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	853	0	33	86	5	2

Season-by-Season Fielding

Billy Wagner — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	PO	A	E	DP
1995	HOU	P	1	0	0	0	0
1996	HOU	P	37	2	3	0	0
1997	HOU	P	62	2	7	1	0
1998	HOU	P	58	2	2	1	0
1999	HOU	P	66	2	5	0	1
2000	HOU	P	28	1	2	0	0
2001	HOU	P	64	1	5	1	0
2002	HOU	P	70	5	9	0	0
2003	HOU	P	78	5	11	0	0
2004	PHI	P	45	3	7	0	0
2005	PHI	P	75	4	6	0	1
2006	NYN	P	70	1	11	0	0
2007	NYN	P	66	1	7	1	0
2008	NYN	P	45	1	2	0	0
2009	NYN	P	2	0	0	0	0
2009	BOS	P	15	0	2	0	0
2010	ATL	P	71	3	7	1	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Billy Wagner Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	854

Awards & Honors

Billy Wagner — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
2007	Reliever of the Month	July
1999	Reliever of the Year Award

Salary History

Billy Wagner's recorded salaries total $92,883,000 over 16 seasons, 1995 to 2010. Wagner's career, 1995 to 2010, falls within 1985 to 2016, the years the salary data covers.

Billy Wagner — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
2010	ATL	NL	$6,750,000
2009	NYN	NL	$10,500,000
2008	NYN	NL	$10,500,000
2007	NYN	NL	$10,500,000
2006	NYN	NL	$10,500,000
2005	PHI	NL	$9,000,000
2004	PHI	NL	$8,000,000
2003	HOU	NL	$8,000,000
2002	HOU	NL	$8,000,000
2001	HOU	NL	$5,000,000
2000	HOU	NL	$3,200,000
1999	HOU	NL	$2,250,000
1998	HOU	NL	$280,000
1997	HOU	NL	$185,000
1996	HOU	NL	$109,000
1995	HOU	NL	$109,000
Total recorded salary			$92,883,000

College History

Billy Wagner — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
Ferrum College	Ferrum	VA	1991, 1992, 1993

Award Voting History

Billy Wagner — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max
2006	Cy Young Award	NL	6th	4.0	160
2003	Most Valuable Player	NL	23th	5.0	448
1999	Cy Young Award	NL	4th	3.0	160
1999	Most Valuable Player	NL	16th	19.0	448

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Billy Wagner (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Compare Billy Wagner

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Billy Wagner: the record in brief

Between the debut on September 13, 1995 and the final game on October 3, 2010, Billy Wagner built the record summarized on this page. The team column moves through the Houston Astros (1995 through 2003), the Philadelphia Phillies (2004 through 2005), the New York Mets (2006 to 2009), the Boston Red Sox (2009), and the Atlanta Braves (2010). At 5'10" and 180 pounds, Wagner is listed as a pitcher. Wagner both batted and threw left-handed, per the bio block. Wagner was born on July 25, 1971, in Marion, VA, USA. Billy Wagner was the playing name; the full given name is William Edward.

Across 853 games (0 starts), Wagner recorded 47 wins against 40 losses with a 2.31 ERA. Wagner had 1,196 strikeouts and 422 saves. That 2.31 ERA compares with a 4.43 league average across the same seasons, 47.8% better. 1997 brought Wagner a season-high 7 wins. The strikeout high was 124 in 1999. The most saves in one season was 44, in 2003.

Frequently Asked Questions about Billy Wagner

What years did Billy Wagner play?: Billy Wagner played in Major League Baseball from 1995 to 2010.
Was Billy Wagner a pitcher?: Yes. Billy Wagner pitched in the major leagues, recording 47 wins and 1196 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Billy Wagner hit?: Billy Wagner hit 0 career home runs with 2 hits.
Is Billy Wagner in the Hall of Fame?: Yes. Billy Wagner was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2025.
What teams did Billy Wagner play for?: Billy Wagner played for 5 teams: the Houston Astros (1995–2003), the Philadelphia Phillies (2004–2005), the New York Mets (2006–2009), the Boston Red Sox (2009), and the Atlanta Braves (2010).
Did Billy Wagner win a Cy Young Award?: No. Billy Wagner did not win the Cy Young Award.
What awards did Billy Wagner win?: Billy Wagner was selected to 6 All-Star Games.
What were Billy Wagner's career stats?: In 853 games, Billy Wagner went 47-40 with a 2.31 ERA, 1,196 strikeouts, 903.0 innings pitched, and 422 saves.
How much did Billy Wagner earn in his career?: Billy Wagner's recorded salaries total $92,883,000 over 16 seasons, 1995 to 2010. Wagner's career, 1995 to 2010, falls within 1985 to 2016, the years the salary data covers.
What was Billy Wagner's salary?: Billy Wagner's last recorded salary was $6,750,000, in 2010. His highest recorded salary was $10,500,000, in 2006, and his lowest was $109,000, in 1995. The Salary History table lists each season from 1995 to 2010.
What position did Billy Wagner play?: Billy Wagner played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Billy Wagner and how much did he weigh?: Billy Wagner was listed at 5 feet 10 inches and 180 pounds.
What was Billy Wagner's career ERA?: Billy Wagner finished with a 2.31 career ERA, going 47-40 with 1,196 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Billy Wagner have?: Billy Wagner recorded 1,196 career strikeouts.