Billy Wagner to return as featured Baseball Night in Blacksburg VIP

BLACKSBURG – On behalf of the Virginia Tech baseball program, head coach John Szefc is proud to invite all to celebrate the Hokies during the program’s 17th annual Baseball Night in Blacksburg, as scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 8, at The Inn at Virginia Tech. This year’s banquet will be headlined by special guest and keynote speaker Billy Wagner – 16-year MLB veteran, seven-time All-Star and revered closer who ranks eighth all-time in career saves (422).

Wagner – who was the featured guest at Baseball Night in Blacksburg in 2011 – will move into a distinguished class of multi-year keynote VIPs at the Hokies’ preseason banquet. Notable past speakers include: Cal Ripken Jr. (2008), Mike Williams (2010), Bobby Valentine (2012), Chuck Hartman (2014), Tim Kurkjian (2018), Ken Rosenthal (2020), Jeff Passan (2022), Chipper Jones (2023), Roger Clemens (2024) and others.

A Virginia man through and through, Wagner was born in Marion and became a baseball product of Tazewell High School and Ferrum College, where he set the NCAA Division III career record for strikeouts per nine innings (16.14) – a feat that still stands today. During the 1993 MLB Draft, the left-hander was taken during the first round at No. 12 overall by the Houston Astros, with whom he would make his MLB debut in September 1995.

By 1997, Wagner was well on his way to cementing himself as Houston’s closer, stamping 23 saves and seven victories while eclipsing 14.00 strikeouts per nine innings for the first time during his MLB career. Two seasons later, he was selected to his first of seven All-Star Game rosters and received the 1999 National League Rolaids Relief Man Award, finishing the year with his lowest ERA to date (1.57) and highest counts to date in saves (39), strikeouts (124) and innings pitched (74.2).

Wagner went on to make two more All-Star rosters as a member of the Astros in 2001 and 2003 before his trade to Philadelphia ahead of the 2004 season. In 2003, he converted 44 saves (career high) and toed a 1.78 ERA as the National League’s most entrusted closer, leading the league in games finished (67).

From 2005 to 2010, Wagner’s final six MLB seasons were highlighted by four All-Star selections spanning stretches with three National League East clubs: Philadelphia (2005), New York (2007, 2008) and Atlanta (2010). Considering his entire 16-year career, he banked 25 or more saves during 10 seasons, registering 47 wins, a 2.31 ERA and 1,196 strikeouts.

Wagner – a 2020 inductee into the Houston Astros Hall of Fame – remains on the cusp of earning induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. During the Class of 2024 vote, he received 73.8 percent consideration from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) during his ninth of 10 seasons on the ballot.

Billed as the formal kickoff to Virginia Tech’s spring season, Baseball Night in Blacksburg provides an intimate setting where guests can meet with VIPs and interact with current Hokies before the start of the 2025 campaign.

Complete event details and information for Baseball Night in Blacksburg, including those pertaining to registration and ticketing, will be made available at a later date.

All Baseball Night in Blacksburg proceeds will go to support the Virginia Tech baseball program, especially its continual enhancements to English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park and its accompanying facilities. Past banquets have supported the installation of artificial turf and expanded dugouts, among other general ballpark overhauls.

Fans and friends of the program are encouraged to stay tuned to hokiesports.com this winter to learn about further event details as they become available.