BLUEFIELD — Billy Wagner was a standout relief pitcher for 16 years in the major leagues.

The time has come for the Tazewell native to do something else.

“I retired to work, that is what I keep telling people, I retired to work,” Wagner said. “This is a dream and something I feel that is more important than a baseball career. I enjoy it.”

He wasn’t the only one. Wagner, who created the Second Chance Learning Center with close friend Erik Robinson, helped bring the Second Chance Rocks The Two Virginias concert to Mitchell Stadium on Saturday.

Nearly 20,000 spectators were expected to attend the all-day event which featured several country music artists, with the funds raised expected to aid numerous non-profit organizations in the region.

“Ever since we started this has been a community event, from the 33 non-profits that make money off of this to the different entities in the community that have helped us,” said Robinson, the executive director of Second Chance. “Most of these non-profits are for kids, and for each one of us investing in the future of this community right now, these same kids 20 years from now will be the ones taking care of this community...

“That is the whole thing, by doing this concert we are open to opening more Second Chance’s to be able to be open to more kids.”

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Wagner, who combined with Robinson to offer an outlet for students like himself who struggled in school, retired last season, having finished his career in the postseason with the Atlanta Braves. He has never looked back.

“I haven’t left the game, with my boys I am probably at the ball park more now than I was when I was playing,” Wagner said. “I get a lot of satisfaction knowing that I am working with kids and I still watch it on TV and keep up with some of the guys, but I have got bigger priorities right now and I enjoy that.”

While Wagner is no longer pitching to big league batters, he’s still throwing to youth league teams. He also threw out the first pitch at the Bluefield Blue Jays’ game on Saturday morning and then signed autographs and posed for photos prior to attending the concert.

“I throw about every day with the kids,” said Wagner, who threw a perfect strike to Bluefield catcher Aaron Munoz, who immediately got the ball signed. “I am able to stay in shape throwing, but I went out there today and was as stiff as a bullet so I was just happy he could make the catch.”

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Among those who attended the game and concert were Minor League Baseball President Pat O’Conner and Appalachian League President Lee Landers.

“He called me about a month ago and asked me to come down and be with him this weekend,” said O’Conner, who had met with Wagner during a dinner last January in Richmond, Va. “When a guy like Billy Wagner asks you to do something you are inclined to do it.”

Landers felt much the same. While many athletes retire to a life of luxury, Wagner continues to make an impact, but without a baseball.

“It is not that often that you get a great athlete like Billy Wagner just out of the big leagues that will take the time to give back to not only his own community, but to right away get into something like his charity,” said Landers, who hopes to start a pilot program to help Second Chance. “We are going to help him all we can because you look at all the great players that have retired and see what they do, they kick back and sometimes you don’t hear from them again.

“You get a guy like Billy Wagner that wants to do something, especially in his own community and give back to the community. He is one of us and we are going to do everything we can to help to show support for what he likes because he was such a great part of our industry.”

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A standout southpaw who throws left, but does everything else right, Wagner was a seven-time All-Star, and is fifth all-time with 422 saves. He trails John Franco for most saves by a lefthander by two.

Yet, Wagner isn’t one to read off his rather lengthy list of accomplishments.

“I think it is just longevity, being able to stay out there and compete and play with some great ball players and I think just the opportunities that helped me to start Second Chance and help us do these concerts,” said Wagner, who played for the Astros, Phillies, Mets, Red Sox and Braves. “Those are things I think stick out to me.

“I know a lot of great players and there have been some great games that I have been a part of, but the opportunity to get back here and give back is something that I am pleased with.”

Wagner will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2015. He trails only Trevor Hoffman (601), Mariano Rivera (581), Lee Smith (478) and Franco (424) on the all-time saves list with no one else even close, but he certainly doesn’t give it much thought. Relievers are rarely voted into the baseball shrine.

“I don’t know, if Trevor Hoffman hadn’t retired at the same time. I called him when he retired and I said, ‘I was stuck behind you when I was playing and I am stuck behind you when they get that ballot’,” Wagner said. “You know what, I have had a great career whether I make it or I don’t.

“I have been very blessed and when you start dealing with the eligibility and are you really a hall of famer, that is really up to a lot of people that is out of my control.”

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Raising money to help kids is in his control, and he’ll do everything he can do just that. Wagner got the idea for a charity concert while attending a similar event sponsored by Boston Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett.

“When Billy and I started Second Chance and being partners in it we have been working on this for a long time and this is really a dream of ours,” Robinson said. “We didn’t expect anything this big, but last May we met down in Florida with some people and we started working on it right then and it has been a whirlwind ever since.”

This isn’t going to be the only such event sponsored by Second Chance, just the first. Next year’s performers will be announced in November.

“This is one of those things we have been blessed with the community and the community has really stood behind us and as long as the community is behind us we will continue to do this,” Wagner said. “It doesn’t help just Second Chance, it helps a lot of organizations that helps kids and helps a lot of people.

“That is what we all about. We are not just one-dimensional where it is just about ourselves, it is about a lot of opportunities for a lot of people.”

That community effort wasn’t lost on those who worked on the project. Robinson was quick to compliment members of the Graham and Bluefield football teams — archrivals on the field — which teamed up earlier in the week to help place nearly 10,000 chairs on the Mitchell Stadium turf.

“Just looking at the crowd out there, have you seen Mitchell Stadium, oh my God, it is crazy,” said Robinson, prior to the concert. “We had 9,750 chairs, but it is a massive effort.

“It looks like it might rain today, but we have got a cover over the stage and rain or shine we rock so it should be a good day.”

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The Bluefield Blue Jays also did their part, starting Saturday’s game at 11 a.m. contest, and then making it an even better day by beating Kingsport 5-1.  

“It was a cooperative effort, both clubs are going to get tickets to go to the concert,” O’Conner said. “It is a situation where you move a game to 11 o’clock in the morning, that is not a preferred start, but for something like this...it is just a great opportunity for us to be part of the community in a positive way.”

Landers echoed those sentiments.

“There are some things that are really worthwhile and you are going to break your back to make sure it works,” Landers said. “He has put his heart and soul into Second Chance and you can see what he is doing.

“He is a true professional on and off the field and we are going to try to start some things here in the league for him.”

•  •  •

Ultimately, Saturday’s memorable event was made possible by Second Chance, and Wagner was quick to compliment those that made it happen.

“I think it is going to speak for itself after it is said and done, but the community has really stepped up and really made it a very exciting time around here,” Wagner said. “Getting to see a lot of old faces and a lot of new faces, it has been a whirlwind to say the least, but you have got to take your hats off to the staff at Second Chance.

“We have put a lot into it and we’re hoping everyone is going to enjoy it and they get a lot out of it.”

They did. So did a lot of organizations, and that was the point.

“What Billy is doing is tremendous and again, you look back at how many athletes that take, take, take and don’t give back,” Landers said. “Here you have got a young man like Billy, his first year off the field immersed in this charity. He is a true professional.”

—Contact Brian Woodson

at bwoodson@bdtonline.com