Billy Wagner broke down in tears after making the Hall of Fame in his final year of eligibility

MLB players who are eligible to make the Baseball Hall of Fame receive 10 chances (as long as they don't dip below five percent of the vote) to get a plaque in Cooperstown. Many of those inducted are selected early on. Their cases are usually clear-cut in one way or another. Sometimes, though, deserving candidates linger on the ballot for the full decade before finally squeaking in. That's what just happened with Billy Wagner.

Wagner, one of the greatest relievers in MLB history, just got inducted into the Hall of Fame on Tuesday on his 10th and final year on the ballot, receiving 82.5 percent of the vote - well above the required 75 percent.

Entering the day, it felt as if it was nothing more than a coin flip as to whether Wagner would make the cut. Thankfully, the call he had dreamt of getting for a decade, finally came through. Once that happened, he couldn't hold back his tears.

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Billy Wagner gives heartwarming reaction after Hall of Fame induction

Those are tears of joy. This is something Wagner has wanted for quite some time, and frankly, it should not have taken this long. Thankfully, he finally got the call he so obviously deserved.

As mentioned above, Wagner is one of the greatest relievers this game has ever seen. The southpaw ranks ninth in MLB history and second among left-handers with 422 saves. His 2.31 career ERA was just a fraction above Mariano Rivera's (the only unanimous Hall of Famer). Wagner struck out 11.9 batters per nine in his 903 innings of work, and held the opposition to a .187 batting average. His unimpressive postseason resume is likely what held him back as long as it did, but even without the October numbers, Wagner's regular season dominance could not be overlooked. Thankfully, it wasn't.

Wagner never won a Cy Young Award (as is the case with most relievers), but did finish in the top six of voting twice, speaking to how dominant of a closer he was. He also was a seven-time All-Star and even received some down-ballot votes for MVP on two separate occasions.

If Wagner couldn't get in, an argument could be made that no reliever would ever get in again. That's how inexcusable it'd be to have left him out of Cooperstown. It took too long, but as you can tell from Wagner's reaction, the final call made the whole ordeal worthwhile for him.