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.

Suzuki is the first Japanese player elected, falling one vote shy of unanimous. The trio will be inducted on July 27 in Cooperstown, N.Y., along with classic era committee picks Dave Parker and