It all comes full circle for this Astros legend and his son
This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart’s Astros Beat publication. To learn the total publication, click on right here. And subscribe to get it frequently in your inbox.
Billy Wagner remembers wanting round a Spring Training clubhouse in Kissimmee, Fla., the primary time he was invited to Major League camp by the Astros within the mid-Nineties as a prospect and being in awe. His locker was subsequent to Doug Drabek, a former Cy Young winner. Around him had been lockers for former All-Stars Darryl Kile, Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio.
“As a young kid, you’re like, ‘Holy cow, what am I doing?’” Wagner stated.
It didn’t take lengthy for Wagner to earn his stripes and begin piling up some accolades himself. He made three All-Star groups throughout his 9 seasons with the Astros, saving a club-record 225 video games, together with a single-season-record 44 in his last season in Houston in 2003. So when Wagner came upon final week his son, Astros prospect Will Wagner, had been invited to camp as a non-roster participant, it was a full-circle second.
“I’m excited for him because he’s earned it,” Billy stated. “He’s had some good seasons. I think the [Arizona] Fall League was a big jump for him. I think that was something that was exciting to watch and see him have success and hit so well. They won a championship out there. He knows he’s got a lot of work [to do], but I think being around guys that have the work ethic and know the game, you get to see what it’s about. That’s for anybody in their first camp.”
It didn’t take Billy Wagner lengthy to determine gamers like Drabek, Kile, Bagwell and Biggio may help you and information you, and even shield you. They lead. All he needed to do was be keen to observe and be taught what made them profitable and “get some useful tidbits and try to gain that knowledge and try to take their job.”
Will Wagner was born July 29, 1998 — two weeks after Billy, whereas pitching for the Astros, was struck within the head by a line drive in Arizona. He was carried off the sphere, spent the night time within the hospital and needed to overcome vertigo to get again on the mound — however he returned to his dominant methods later that summer season. The Astros drafted Will within the 18th spherical out of Liberty University in 2021; Billy was drafted within the first spherical out of Ferrum College in 1993.
Last yr, Will, a left-handed-hitting infielder, slashed .261/.374/.394 with 10 homers and 53 RBIs in 117 Minor League video games between High-A Asheville and Double-A Corpus Christi. He cut up time between third base, first base and second base. Wagner completed second within the AFL in OPS (1.145) final fall, slashing .346/.433/.712 with three homers and 15 RBIs in 52 at-bats.
Being in a position to play with Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve this spring needs to be an enormous increase for Wagner, who will seemingly open the 2023 season again in Corpus Christi with an opportunity to be at Triple-A by the summer season.
“I know he’s excited; he’s embraced it,” Billy stated. “I know that the moment’s not big for him. He knows the game. He’s just excited, like me and his mom. You get drafted in the 18th round, you better do a lot of things well. And he’s put in the hard work, and I’m happy for him. He knows he’s got to do more and continue to do what he’s doing. To be around those guys, it’s a big honor for him.”
