Jeff Bagwell: ‘I’d have nothing if I wasn’t an Astro’
By Hayden Kane
When the Hall of Fame results are announced on Wednesday, don’t count on Jeff Bagwell complaining about the results.
He can leave that to other reasonable people, the type of people who might point out that just because Bagwell had the audacity to be a stocky, beefy guy during a shady era doesn’t mean he should be lumped in with everybody else.
Nope, for his part Bagwell says he’s going to stay quiet, something he’s done since stepping away from the game. He spoke with Brian McTaggart of MLB.com and discussed that and other issues:
"The Hall of Fame is a great achievement and all that kind of stuff. The biggest achievement in my career is the friends I’ve taken out of here. I still hear from everybody. I talked to Ricky Gutierrez the other day. I still talk to people. But it’s very, very hard to get in touch with me, and I do that for a reason.”"
Bagwell then mentioned the fact that it took Andre Dawson 14 years to be inducted into Cooperstown, apparently already prepared to go through a long wait himself. He then made sure to praise Houston and the Astros franchise:
"I love the city, I love the Astros…I’d have nothing if I wasn’t an Astro. And I’m not talking about money. It felt like it was right.”"
It seems strange to think that Craig Biggio and Bagwell won’t enter the Hall of Fame together, but such is the plight of a slugger from this era.