To gain entry to the Baseball Hall of Fame, Billy Wagner completed a climb few candidates have managed. Wagner, the former Houston Astros closer, attained the 75% support from voters required for election in his final year of eligibility on the writers’ ballot.

Once more, for baseball immortality, Billy Wagner closed it out. Wagner, the dominant closer who played a two-season sliver of his 16-year career with the Phillies, got elected Tuesday night to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his 10th and final year on the ballot.

Wagner erupted in tears as he received the news of his induction during a phone call with Hall of Fame representatives in Cooperstown. Our Esquina's Jose de Jesus Ortiz was alongside Wagner in the reliever's home Tuesday night, and Ortiz relayed quite the emotional message.