Billy Wagner had never been to Cooperstown. His closest brushes were trips in short-season A-ball to Oneonta, some 25 miles south in New York, to play road games in 1993, his first professional season in the Houston Astros’ system,

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.