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October 04, 2005
The remarkable Mr. Biggio
On the heels of their dramatic win in the last game of the regular season to seal the National League Wild Card Playoff berth, the Stros announced today that the club had signed future Hall of Famer and lifelong Stro Craig Biggio to a one year, $4 million contract covering the 2006 season. Bidg will play that season as a spry 40 year old.
Although the purely baseball-related analysis of whether to bring Bidg back is a closer question than the casual fan might think, it's hard to look at what the Stros accomplished this season and not think back to the one game that was truly the turning point -- that September 7 game in Philly when a ninth-inning, two-out, three-run home run by Bidg completed an Astros sweep of the Phillies. That Billy Wagner fastball that Bidg parked in the leftfield seats turned out to be the difference between the Stros going to the playoffs and the Phils going home.
But as good a baseball player as Bidg has been to the Stros, he has turned out to be something more for the club and the city. Bidg is a genuinely nice man who has embraced Houston as his family's home as much as Houston has embraced him as the face of its baseball team. Craig Biggio is a dying breed, the professional athlete who plays his entire Hall of Fame career in the city that he adopts as his home. As a result, Stros owner Drayton McLane is clearly making the right decision in accomodating this aging star in playing out his string in Houston. As with Roger Clemens, it is highly unlikely that any of us will ever see the likes of Craig Biggio on a baseball field again in our lives.
Bidg's recent seasons and career statistics are here.
Posted by Tom at October 4, 2005 03:17 AM
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