Today we turn to the most prominent Phillies player added to the HoF Ballot, Billy Wagner
2005 Topps Opening Day #117 Billy Wagner
Wagner was in Philadelphia for only 2 seasons, but it seemed like longer.
During a 16 year career for five different teams Billy the Kid collected 422 career saves which ranks 5th all time. 59 of those saves were with the Phillies which was the only team for which Wagner didn't make the postseason.
Phungo HoF Verdict - Veto
Billy Wagner is not a Hall of Famer. Closers are paid to save games, and while Wagner ranks 5th all-time in that category I just don't value the category nor the position.
2005 Topps Opening Day
Topps OD is pretty much a rehash of flagship. 2005 is no exception, however it is one of the better replications, the Blue Foil for the player name is an upgrade over the silver/gold that is present on the originals - gives the cards some added color.
2005 Topps Opening Day #117 Billy Wagner
2005 Topps Billy Wagner
Here we have OD and flagship - the one obvious visual downside of the latter set is the garish Opening Day flare.
Flip
2005 Topps Opening Day #117 Billy Wagner (b-side)
The backsides are the same for OD. I do like the quote from Jimy Williams as he notes Billy Wagner as a standup guy. Of course Wagner wasn't afraid to mention that his teammates weren't living up to expectations and Jimy Williams would eventually join the Phillies as Bench coach and then leave after the team won a World Championship.
Sources and Links
2016 HoF Candidates
Baseball-ref
baseball cardpedia
Wagner was in Philadelphia for only 2 seasons, but it seemed like longer.
During a 16 year career for five different teams Billy the Kid collected 422 career saves which ranks 5th all time. 59 of those saves were with the Phillies which was the only team for which Wagner didn't make the postseason.
Phungo HoF Verdict - Veto
Billy Wagner is not a Hall of Famer. Closers are paid to save games, and while Wagner ranks 5th all-time in that category I just don't value the category nor the position.
2005 Topps Opening Day
Topps OD is pretty much a rehash of flagship. 2005 is no exception, however it is one of the better replications, the Blue Foil for the player name is an upgrade over the silver/gold that is present on the originals - gives the cards some added color.
2005 Topps Billy Wagner
Here we have OD and flagship - the one obvious visual downside of the latter set is the garish Opening Day flare.
Flip
The backsides are the same for OD. I do like the quote from Jimy Williams as he notes Billy Wagner as a standup guy. Of course Wagner wasn't afraid to mention that his teammates weren't living up to expectations and Jimy Williams would eventually join the Phillies as Bench coach and then leave after the team won a World Championship.
Sources and Links
2016 HoF Candidates
Baseball-ref
baseball cardpedia
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