GGOATRANK
🇺🇸
Baseball · Relief pitcher · United States

Billy Wagner

1993–2010 · Left-handed closer with 422 saves and an 11.9 strikeout rate.

Retired
Ranking model

100% titles, statistics, dominance, longevity and global competition depth.

Pure sporting data
88.2
Cultural & brand footprint 50/100 · total legacy 76.7
Career saves
422
All-Star selections
7
Career ERA
2.3
Strikeouts per nine innings
11.9
Career strikeouts
1,196

Category profile

Dominance
84
Peak
94
Longevity
86
Honours
84
Statistics
96

Career timeline · Home runs per season

SeasonHome runs per seasonShare of career
19969
199723
199830
199939
20006
200139
200235
200344
200421
200538
200640
200734
200827
20091
201037

Data sources

  • MLB.com
  • Baseball Reference
  • National Baseball Hall of Fame

Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method

Why Billy Wagner ranks #80 in Baseball

Billy Wagner ranks 80th among Baseball athletes on GOAT Rank and 1229th of 2289 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 88.2 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 84, Peak 94, Longevity 86, Honours 84, Statistics 96. Those categories are normalised against the full Baseball reference universe of 262 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.

The record covers 1993–2010 with 15 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 2003, which sets the Peak component at 94. Statistics is the defining strength of the profile at 96 out of 100, and it carries 15% of the final score. The underlying career record includes career saves 422, all-star selections 7, career era 2.31, strikeouts per nine innings 11.9.

Immediately ahead sits Al Kaline on 88.3, a gap of 0.1 points. Directly behind is Craig Kimbrel on 88.3. The position moves whenever the verified record moves: new titles, new seasons or a corrected source all feed straight back into the same formula, and every change is dated on this profile.

Billy Wagner GOAT Score explained

Dominance84/100 · weight 25%
Measures how far Wagner stood above the field while competing. Scored 84/100 against the full Baseball cohort.
Peak94/100 · weight 20%
Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 2003. Scored 94/100.
Longevity86/100 · weight 20%
Rewards staying at that level over time: 17 years of competition and 15 recorded seasons. Scored 86/100.
Honours84/100 · weight 20%
Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 84/100.
Statistics96/100 · weight 15%
Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 96/100.

Billy Wagner — frequently asked

Is Billy Wagner the GOAT?
Not on the current data. Billy Wagner ranks 80th in Baseball with a GOAT Score of 88.2, behind Babe Ruth on 94.6.
What is Billy Wagner's GOAT Score?
88.2 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 84 (25%), Peak 94 (20%), Longevity 86 (20%), Honours 84 (20%), Statistics 96 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
Where does Billy Wagner rank all time?
1229th of 2289 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 80th within Baseball.
Billy Wagner vs Al Kaline: who ranks higher?
Al Kaline, on 88.3 against Billy Wagner's 88.2 — a margin of 0.1 points.
Compare with Ruth