May 12–13 against the Reds. While he was still occasionally throwing 100 m.p.h. as measured by radar, he was not throwing his slider at 85–90 m.p.h. as often as he had been previously. Wagner continued to struggle before going on the disabled list with a torn flexor tendon in his pitching arm and would miss the final three and a half months of the season. He finished with a 2–4 record, a 6.18 ERA, and six saves in 15 opportunities, striking out 28 and walking 18 in innings. He would rebound in 2001. Coming off elbow surgery, he posted a record of 2–5 with 39 saves in 41 chances and an ERA of 2.73. He was one of the leading candidates for The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award in the National League. In innings, he struck out 79 hitters. In 2002, Wagner went 4–2 with a 2.52 ERA, 88 strikeouts, and 35 saves in 75 innings. Then, he enjoyed his best season in 2003, when he reached career-highs in saves (44), innings pitched (86) and games (78), and got 105 strikeouts while leading the league in games finished. In that year, he also cemented his status as the hardest-throwing man in baseball by leading the major leagues with 159 pitches at 100 mph or above. Second on the list was starter Bartolo Colón with 12. On June 11, 2003, Wagner closed out a no-hitter thrown by a record six pitchers against the New York Yankees. Following the World Series, Wagner criticized the Astros front office for not building a playoff worthy team. On November 3, Billy Wagner was informed that he had been traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. Philadelphia Phillies Wagner was traded to Philadelphia before the 2004 season, only to have his season shortened by a strain in his hand. He had the best ERA of his career in 2005 and again led the league in games finished. Wagner became a free agent after the 2005 season and signed a four-year, $43 million contract and a one-year club option with the New York Mets. In a May 7, 2006 interview, Wagner stated that he was confronted by all of his former Phillies teammates in September 2005 after he had criticized their performance in the media by repeatedly saying that the Phillies had "no chance" of making the playoffs (which proved accurate, as the Phillies lost out