LONG Overdue Thanks to Junior Junkie!

A while back I got an unexpected package in the mail from The Junior Junkie.  He was kind enough to send me a nice stack of cards from my second-favorite player of all-time, Jeff Bagwell!

Griffey had the sweetest swing of his generation, but Bagwell's may have been the most fearsome.  Starting from his ominous, crouching stance...

...and then just exploding through the ball:

That pitch was on the OUTER half of the plate.

It's a crime that Bagwell hasn't made the Hall of Fame yet.  I've never heard any kind of real evidence against him as far as PEDs, only guilt by association because he was around Ken Caminiti.  His career numbers speak for themselves - 449 HRs, 1517 Runs, 1529 RBIs, 2314 hits, .297 career average, .408 career OBP and 202 SBs.  I think the average and stolen bases are the most surprising for many people - he wasn't just a power hitter, he was a complete player!  And those power numbers came while spending two-thirds of his career playing home games in the Astrodome.

Thanks a lot Junior Junkie!  I will have to return the favor sometime in the near future.  :)

Hoping for a Big Day in Houston

Hi everybody, long time no post!

The voting results for this year's Baseball Hall of Fame class are about to be announced, and I just thought I would throw my quick 2 cents in. Many have written at length about the agonizing decisions they faced over whether or not to vote for various PED-linked players this year, but in my mind there are 2 players who absolutely should go in who have never (to my knowledge) had any serious accusations leveled against them - Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell.  It seems like Bagwell has some vague "guilt by association" cloud hanging around him, but I don't believe anyone has ever directly accused him of wrongdoing.

Without question, their career numbers speak for themselves:

Craig Biggio:
3,060 hits
.281 avg / .363 obp / .796 ops
668 doubles
291 HRs
1,175 RBIs
1,844 Runs
414 SBs

Jeff Bagwell:
2,317 hits
.297 avg. / .408 obp / .948 ops
488 doubles
449 HRs
1,529 RBIs
1,517 Runs
202 SBs

Keep in mind, they both played significant portions of their careers on the hard turf of the cavernous Astrodome.  Certainly their HR numbers would have been higher playing in a more hitter friendly park.

Beyond just their stats, I always admired both guys for always playing hard.  They were a lot of fun to watch, even though I had to watch them beat up on my team far too often!

And how can anyone NOT love Bagwell's intimidating batting stance?



My gut tells me that Bagwell may have to wait a few years to get in, but here's hoping I'm wrong and they go in together!