FERRUM, Va. – It proved to be the call of a lifetime but it was also 10 years in the waiting for Billy Wagner. But now the Southwest Virginia native is thankful for the to have gotten the call to the hall.
Revered as one of the greatest relief pitchers to take the mound, Wagner can now feel a sense of relief.
“I think that’s God’s way of teaching me patience,” said Wagner. “You pray for patience and this is what he says. You know, I’m blessed.”
The former 7-time MLB All-Star was recently selected for the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his final year of eligibility. His standout days in the big league’s wouldn’t be possible without his roaring days as a Panther.
“I noticed he had a great arm but was really small. Probably 130 pounds,” said former Ferrum head baseball coach Abe Naff.
Naff was thankful that Wagner wanted to come to Ferrum, following the footsteps of his cousin Jeff Lamie.
“The rest is history,” said Naff. “He came here, got confidence, got bigger, stronger and powerful legs to go with that powerful arm.”
“Nobody knew how good I was going to be I was so undersized,” said Wagner.
The Southwest Virginia native painted quite the strike zone--proving to be one of the best to ever play at the Division III level, ending his college career in record-setting fashion.
With Wagner’s recent news comes a big boost for the Ferrum baseball program which is now coached by his friend and former teammate Eric Owens.
“We really brought this family back together and want to bring Ferrum baseball back to where it was when we played and we loved it and everybody around us loved Ferrum baseball,” said Owens.
“You have to love this game to play it because it’s like life--nobody cares about your feelings, what you did yesterday so you have to move on.”