The Houston Astros retired Hall of Fame reliever Billy Wagner's No. 13 on Saturday after he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 27.
Wagner became the 10th number retired by the Astros, as his No. 13 now sits beside Jeff Bagewell's No. 5 and Craig Biggio's No. 7 in the Daikin Park rafters.
“Having your number put up in the rafters with the greats of the organization probably is up there with being a Hall of Famer, because you’re representing the city, you’re representing your team that you played for,” Wagner said (h/t mlb.com). “It means a lot.”
Wagner's Hall of Fame MLB career lasted 16 years with the first nine coming in Houston. The seven-time All-Star closer collected 422 saves in his career with 225 of them coming as an Astro.
In Wagner's final season in Houston, he set a career-high with 44 saves and led the major leagues with 67 games finished. The Hall of Fame closer finished his illustrious career with 2.31 ERA and threw over 500 innings for the Astros.
Now, Wagner's No. 13 will never be worn in Houston again. Ironically, when the Astros reliever picked the number everyone laughed at him. It was Wagner's first number at his Division III college in Virginia, and he decided to pick it again when he showed up for his first Astros' spring training.
In his first outing, he gave up a two-run home run and the media joked with him that he'd have to find a new number. Wagner didn't, and now over 30 years later, no Astros' players will ever wear that number again.
Hall of Fame closer Billy Wagner had his Astros jersey #13 retired tonight during a ceremony at Daikin Park. pic.twitter.com/xqNa4jjT0E
— Mark Berman (@MarkBerman_) August 16, 2025
"I think from Southwest Virginia, to have a Hall of Famer; I think people can see value, I think they know that it's possible, and I think it's something that I need to carry around more often because I think the guy at Southwest Virginia that doesn't see that this is possible needs to see me," Wagner said as he fought back tears. "Needs to see that dreams are possible. That they don't have to stop dreaming because somebody says that it's improbable - I'm improbable.
"This right here exemplifies Division III and all the people that said you couldn't do something, and I'm the last one laughing."
The Astros' Hall of Famer has had quite the last few weeks as he came straight from Cooperstown after being inducted into the Hall of Fame to Houston for his number retirement ceremony.
After the pregame ceremony to honor the legendary closer, the Astros walked off the Orioles in 12 innings. It was truly a memorable night in Houston for many reasons as fans watched a thrilling victory and the retirement of Wagner's No. 13.