In a video posted on X by sports writer Jose de Jesus Ortiz, Wagner leaned against a pool table while taking the call. He listened for more than 15 seconds before he put his hand on his face, fighting tears and hunching over. “Thank you,” he eventually said to the person on the other end of the phone.

Astros fans can rest easy knowing that Billy Wagner is going into the Baseball Hall of Fame, making him the 12th former Astros player or manager to go into Cooperstown and the third — joining Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell — to go in with an Astros cap on his plaque.