CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Before each season, Billy Wagner asks his players to write down what motivates them on a whiteboard inside the gym at The Miller School.
Some of Wagner’s players are motivated by a desire to play in the major leagues. One hopes to be the first woman to play in Major League Baseball. Others aspire to play college baseball. A few others are motivated by the opportunity to win a Virginia state title.
The former All-Star closer has built a perennial Virginia state baseball power since he retired from MLB somewhat prematurely to spend time with his wife Sarah and their four children.
Growing up in poverty in rural Virginia, Wagner had a more humble motivation at the same age.
“Hunger,” he says. “I don’t think kids realize what it’s like to be hungry and to go to school with crackers, get a red tag and get made fun of. I don’t think they would even know how to handle that. So that’s what drove me.
“When you go through these times that harden you, those are the things that you lean on. That’s why I put it up there. ‘What drives you? What makes you hungry?’ Hopefully there will never be a day when someone puts food down, because that was tough.”
Wagner, 52, has spent the last 12 years coaching at The Miller School, winning three Virginia state titles along the way. He has a loaded roster with Division I talent and legitimate MLB draft prospects.
He believes in his kids, and his kids believe in him.
Wagner ended his brilliant career after his seventh All-Star season. Several of his Hall of Fame teammates are adamant that he could have pitched for several more seasons at an All-Star level.
Considering his difficult childhood, Wagner decided to focus on raising his children.
Wagner's story is about devotion to family and the Miller School. We want to tell this important story of how one of the greatest relievers in baseball history decided to quit early to take on a more important calling: family.
Our supporters can help us tell this story and highlight the generations Wagner has helped since he retired.
