‘Phillies Extra’ Q&A: Billy Wagner on the Hall of Fame, regret from playing in Philly, and more

A month before he is inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, Wagner sat down with The Inquirer to discuss his career, including what he would do differently from his time with the Phillies.

Billy Wagner had 422 saves, including 59 in two seasons with the Phillies.Read moreHans Pennink / AP

by Scott Lauber

Published June 24, 2025, 9:47 a.m. ET

A month from now, on July 27, Billy Wagner will stand on stage in Cooperstown, N.Y., and get inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Before that, though, he has a homework assignment.

“I’m not much of a speechwriter,” Wagner said recently on Phillies Extra, the baseball interview show from The Inquirer. “I enjoy talking, obviously, but putting in the appreciations to all the people that have been a huge help and part of this journey, it’s difficult to find the right words and the thank-yous.

“There’s so much to say, and how you say it is really personal for me. I want to say it the right way. I’ve never been gifted with that type of lingo. I wake up at night worrying about not saying the right things or not saying it about the right people, getting everybody in there.

“It’s very nerve-racking for me.”

Wagner sat down with The Inquirer to discuss getting into the Hall of Fame after a long wait, being involved in the apex of the Phillies-Mets rivalry, regrets about his two seasons in Philadelphia, and more.

Here’s an excerpt from our conversation, which has been edited for clarity and brevity. Watch the full interview below and subscribe to the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Q: You were super emotional in January when the Hall of Fame election results came in. When did it actually kind of sink in that you’re a Hall of Famer now?

A: I don’t know if it has sunk in. I have been busy with high school and our baseball program [at the Miller School in Charlottesville, Va.], which has helped me bide the time. But to really think about that and walk through the halls is really just — I don’t know if anybody ever feels like you belong or you are a Hall of Famer when you walk in and you see the names that are on that wall and just see and hear the stats and just the history of the game … to be incorporated in that is just super emotional for me because I’m a fan of the game. I love what the game has done for me, but I enjoyed it as a kid watching the games and listening to the Mel Allens and the guys who made it meaningful. Thinking about getting up in the morning to watch Johnny Bench [host] The Baseball Bunch. … Those were big moments because we didn’t have that everyday experience.

And now having baseball 24/7, you have channels of baseball, replays, and now there’s just so much opportunity to see it and be around it. But how we came up, that whole journey of going through that has been kind of overwhelming because of just who you’re standing in front of.

I had the great opportunity in 16 years [in the majors] to meet some of the greatest players ever. Robin Roberts being one of my favorite people, taking him out to dinner with him and his son. Meeting Mike Schmidt, Nolan Ryan — all these great [players] — Sandy Koufax. To stand in front of these people and be honored as one of that small elite group, it’s hard to really take in and really think you’re part of that. So it hasn’t sunk in and I don’t know if it ever will, because I don’t think that I saw that really coming in that way.

Q: I want to take you back to November 2003. You’re an All-Star closer on some really good Astros teams. Meanwhile, the Phillies are coming off an 86-win season, and they’re moving into a new ballpark. And they trade for you. It’s a three-for-one trade. And so you come to this sports-obsessed city and everyone’s looking at you and saying, ‘He’s the missing piece.’ That had to be like nothing you’d ever gone through.

A: Oh, well it was. The trade in itself was something that I wasn’t expecting. And nothing prepares you for that first trade, especially when it’s out of the blue. But when I played in Houston, you had [Jeff] Bagwell, you had [Craig] Biggio, you had Jeff Kent, you had Moisés Alou. You had veterans that had been there — Shane Reynolds, Mike Hampton. You had people around you that had been there and could lead the way. I was just following the lead. And when you get put into that trade and you come in, I don’t know if you can live up to it. But the thing was, if I could go back and handle things differently, it would definitely be how I handled just the surroundings.

But the thing that I would not have changed is, I think it might’ve been the best two years of my career.

Something that I’d never experienced in my life is the passion in Philadelphia. I mean, Houston was not known for that type of passion. And when you get into that Northeast [market], there was something to that that I wasn’t prepared for. And that had a direct effect on just how I think I handled all the things the wrong way in so many ways. But the great players that I played with, I’d say the bullpens that I was with … I was a huge fan of Larry Bowa, and [John Vukovich] was tremendous. That rugged, hard-nosed [attitude], that fit me. But I wish I could have gone back and handled some of that better.

I think of any of the regrets I have are through probably the Phillies not getting to the playoffs and the 2006 [Mets] team not going to the World Series. But for me, that was my first understanding of what passionate fans were about. You better bring your A-game every single night. And that was something I think about quite often.

Q: How would you rewrite those two years with the Phillies if you could?

A: Well, I think for me, maturity-wise and handling the press. Because I wasn’t used to that attention at all. And I didn’t know how to handle that. I didn’t know how to handle the questions of when you were good but you still didn’t get it done. Or in certain questions, not knowing how to handle it, how to speak to it in a way that wasn’t defensive. I think that was what I’d go back because I think that would have taken the pressure off of myself and the pressure off some of my teammates. I wasn’t very old and super experienced, but I’d been around longer than Jimmy [Rollins] and Pat [Burrell]. And they had been through the fires of that growth because they were young. Scott Rolen had just left. You had some veterans with David Bell, and we’d just gotten Jon Lieber and some guys like that, but we were all not used to that setting.

If I could go back and rewrite that for myself, it would be how I would have controlled my emotions with the press and really enjoying the moment with guys like Jimmy and Pat, Chase [Utley]. I think the upside of that team was getting ready to really explode. I left, and it was 2008 when they went to the World Series and won. But I think that was the table setting and things like that. But if I had to do it again, that would be where I would start.

Q: You just coached The Miller School to a fourth baseball state championship. What made you want to go into coaching? Why at the high school level? And what’s kept you going for so long? Because you started before your son Will was in high school, and you’re still coaching after he’s graduated.

A: I’ve got three boys. My youngest was part of this [2025] championship team. What I enjoy about coaching is developing and going through the experiences I had as a young kid, and going through all the way up to pro ranks all the things that I did wrong, all the mistakes I made. I wanted to be there for my kids, of course. But I also wanted to help kids and really promote the game and really just let everybody know how hard this game is. I enjoy the kids. I wouldn’t say I’m a very good coach. I would say I’m very good at motivating the kids to achieve what they want to achieve. I guess kind of a running joke is if they can keep me from coaching, we have a chance.

But I’ve been really blessed with a lot of talent and commitment from kids. What I enjoy the most is just the relationship with the kids and having the moment to sit there and talk to the kids during that stressful time in the game, or before the game, or after the game, or when they’ve had that slump, or when they’re doing well. Just to kind of help them work through what they have to do. Because everybody that comes into high school baseball now thinks they’re going to the big leagues tomorrow. And that was a far cry from when I came up. I never even thought about something like that. Now it’s just an everyday thing, conversation like, ‘Am I going to get drafted? Can this happen?’

And for me, I think having a sounding board for these kids is important. The social media is so tough on kids to live up to today. So, just being a sounding board for these kids and enjoying other people’s success has really given me a lot of joy. And to be able to sit there and watch my kids go through it and enjoy it, it’s just an added bonus.