CRAIG BIGGIO

'Craig Alan Biggio' (born December 14, 1965 in Smithtown, New York) is a seven-time All-Star Major League baseball player who has played his entire career with the Houston Astros. On November 10, 2006, the Astros reached a 1-year contract agreement with Biggio, ensuring his 20th consecutive season with the team. On July 24, 2007, Biggio officially announced that he will retire at the end of the season.^[1]

College career

Biggio was an All-American baseball player at Seton Hall University, where he played with other future Major League Baseball stars Mo Vaughn and John Valentin. He was drafted by the Houston Astros in the first round (22nd overall) in 1987.

Major League career

Catcher

Craig was called up as a catcher midway through the 1988 season, having batted .344 in his minor league career. As a rookie, he caught Nolan Ryan's 100th win as an Astro. In 1989, his first full season, Biggio became the Astros' starting catcher. He won the Silver Slugger award in 1989. Biggio was a very speedy runner, and an adept base stealer. Astros' management, in an attempt to keep the rigors of catching from sapping Biggio's speed, tried him in the outfield part-time in 1990, as he had played 18 games there in the minors.

Second baseman

The Astros finally convinced Biggio to convert to second baseman in spring training 1992, even though Biggio had made the National League All-Star team as a catcher in 1991. Biggio made the All-Star team for the second time in 1992, becoming the first player in the history of baseball to be an All-Star at both catcher and second base. It is remarkably rare for a major league catcher to make a successful transition to middle infielder. If a catcher changes positions, it is usually to first base, or occasionally to outfield or third base.
Biggio became known as a reliable, hustling, consistent leadoff hitter, with unusual power for a second baseman. He holds the National League record for most home runs to lead off a game with fifty. His statistics reflect this, having consistently good marks in hitting, on-base percentage, hit-by-pitch, runs, stolen bases and doubles throughout his career.
Yogi Berra, when asked about Biggio being short for a catcher, said "Short catchers are better, because they don't have to stand up as far."

Knee injury

He epitomized consistency by playing 1,800 games without a trip to the disabled list until August 1, 2000, when he had a season-ending knee injury. In the play in which Biggio was injured, the Florida Marlins' Preston Wilson (who would later become Biggio's teammate) slid into second base, trying to stop a double play, and hit Biggio's planted left leg, tearing the anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in Biggio's knee. Biggio rebounded with a good season in 2001, but had a lackluster performance in 2002, with only a .253 average, his lowest since entering the league.

Outfielder

However, he improved slightly for the 2003 season, averaging .264 with 166 hits despite being asked by management to move to center field after the signing of free agent All-Star second baseman Jeff Kent. In 2004, he put up numbers more typical for his career, batting .281 with 178 hits, including a career high 24 homers. Biggio moved to yet another new position, left field, midway through the 2004 season to accommodate Carlos Beltrán who was acquired in a trade to help bolster the Astros' struggling offense.

Back to second

For the 2005 season Biggio moved back to second base after Jeff Kent left for the Dodgers. Biggio set a new career high by hitting 26 home runs and during the season hit his 1000th RBI becoming the second Astro with 1000 RBIs for Houston (the first being Jeff Bagwell). Biggio played in the World Series in 2005 for the first time in his eighteen year career. On May 23, 2006 Biggio became the 23rd player in MLB history with 10,000 at-bats.

Milestones

Biggio's hit counter, prior to the start of the 2007 season

On June 28, 2007, Craig Biggio became the 27th player in the history of Major League Baseball to join the 3000 hit club, with a single against Colorado Rockies pitcher Aaron Cook, even though he was out on the play, after getting tagged out trying to stretch it to a double. The game was stopped for the moment and Biggio shared the moment with his wife and children. Long time friend and former-teammate Jeff Bagwell emerged from the Astros clubhouse to congratulate him. Biggio became the first Astros player to hit 3000 while on the team.
In anticipation of Biggio reaching 3,000 hits, the Astros had installed a digital counter just left of center field displaying his current hit total.
With 665 doubles, he is currently in 6th place on the all-time list, ahead of Hall of Famer Napoleon Lajoie in 7th, and is currently on pace to pass Hall of Famer George Brett (5th place with 665) by the end of the 2007 season. Biggio also holds the record for the most doubles by a right-handed hitter.
Craig Biggio is the only player in the history of baseball with 3000 hits, 600 doubles, 400 stolen bases, and 250 home runs.
Biggio needs 9 home runs to become only the 7th player to join the 300-300 club (300 homers and 300 stolen bases). He would become the 1st player to reach this milestone playing for only one club. Accomplishing both of these feats he will also join a subset of the 300-300 club, the 300-300-3000 club to become only the 2nd member along with Willie Mays. If Biggio can do all of this in the 2007 season, he will become the first to accomplish them during the same season.
On July 24th 2007, Biggio announced his retirement, effective at the end of the season (his 20th season with the club, a franchise record). Hours later, with the Astros locked in a 3-3 tie with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Biggio hit a grand slam in the 6th inning. The Astros went on to win the game 7-4.

Stats

Craig Biggio career stats through July 30, 2007
	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	OBP	SLG	AVG	HBP	XBH
1988	50	123	14	26	6	1	3	5	7	29	6	.254	.350	.211	0	10
1989	134	443	64	114	21	2	13	60	49	64	21	.336	.402	.257	6	36
1990	150	555	53	153	24	2	4	42	53	79	25	.342	.348	.276	3	30
1991	149	546	79	161	23	4	4	46	53	71	19	.358	.374	.295	2	31
1992	162	613	96	170	32	3	6	39	94	95	38	.378	.369	.277	7	41
1993	155	610	98	175	41	5	21	64	77	93	15	.373	.474	.287	10	67
1994	114	437	88	139	44	5	6	56	62	58	39	.411	.483	.318	8	55
1995	141	553	123	167	30	2	22	77	80	85	33	.406	.483	.302	22	54
1996	162	605	113	174	24	4	15	75	75	72	25	.386	.415	.288	27	43
1997	162	619	146	191	37	8	22	81	84	107	47	.415	.501	.309	34	67
1998	160	646	123	210	51	2	20	88	64	113	50	.403	.503	.325	23	73
1999	160	639	123	188	56	0	16	73	88	107	28	.386	.457	.294	11	72
2000	101	377	67	101	13	5	8	35	61	73	12	.388	.393	.268	16	26
2001	155	617	118	180	35	3	20	70	66	100	7	.382	.455	.292	28	58
2002	145	577	96	146	36	3	15	58	50	111	16	.330	.404	.253	17	54
2003	153	628	102	166	44	2	15	62	57	116	8	.350	.412	.264	27	61
2004	156	633	100	178	47	0	24	63	40	94	7	.337	.469	.281	15	71
2005	155	590	94	156	40	1	26	69	37	90	11	.325	.468	.264	17	67
2006	145	548	79	135	33	0	21	62	40	84	3	.306	.422	.246	9	54
2007	95	363	53	110	24	3	8	36	18	77	4	.287	.388	.248	3	34
Career	2804	10722	1829	3040	661	55	289	1161	1155	1718	414	.364	.434	.282	285	1002
Astros Rank	1	1	1	1	1	5	2	2	2	1	2	6	9	9	1	1
NL Rank	7	6	7	9	3	270	52	56	16	7	23	58	116	132	1	9
MLB Rank	23	13	14	25	6	570	128	154	56	15	55	158	281	316	2	27

Highlights

★ Hit his 3000th hit on June 28, 2007 at 9:14 PM, to a sold out crowd at Minute Maid Park.

★ Led the majors in runs scored in 1995 and 1997 and in doubles in 1998 and 1999.

★ In 1997, became the first player in baseball history not to hit into a single double play while playing an entire 162 game season. Two players, Augie Galan (1935) and Dick McAuliffe (1968), had previously played an entire season with the same feat, but did not play in as many games in their respective seasons.

★ In 1997, scored 146 runs, which is the most of any National League player since the Phillies' Chuck Klein scored 152 runs in 1932.

★ Tops the Astros' career list in games played, at-bats, runs scored, hits, doubles and extra-base hits.

★ Holds the record for most regular season games played before his first World Series appearance with 2,564.

★ In 1998 became the second player to have 50 stolen bases and 50 doubles in the same season. The only other person to accomplish this is Hall of Famer Tris Speaker.

★ Holds the National League record for most lead-off home runs in a career with 53. He is 2nd in MLB behind Rickey Henderson (81).

★ Is a 7-Time All Star and widely considered to be a future Hall of Famer.

★ Hit a game-deciding grand slam on July 24, 2007, the same day he announced his retirement. It was also his 2nd grand slam of the year and the 4th of his career.

Hit by pitch

Over his career, Biggio has gained a reputation for being hit by pitches. Some have even gone so far as to proclaim him the "king of hit batsmen."^[2] On June 29, 2005, Biggio broke the modern-era career hit-by-pitch record, previously held by Don Baylor with 267. He is currently the active leader in this category, and trails only Hughie Jennings on the all-time list with 287. As of August 13, 2007, Biggio had 285 HBP, and needed 3 more to break the 103-year-old record. Despite being hit by a record number of pitches, Biggio has never charged the mound, ^[3] and has had no serious injuries as a result of being hit. In August 2007 the satirical online newspaper The Onion referenced this in the article "Craig Biggio Blames Media Pressure For Stalling At 285 Hit-By-Pitches".

Trivia

★ Biggio is known as a 'Killer B', a playful nickname given to Astros players with last names starting with the letter 'B'. The original 1996 Killer Bs included teammates Jeff Bagwell, Derek Bell, and Sean Berry. More recent members include Lance Berkman and Carlos Beltrán (2004).

★ Biggio is a staunch Catholic who is known to never miss Mass on Sunday morning, even when his team is on the road.

★ Baseball statistician Bill James in the ''Revised Historical Abstract'' rated Biggio the 4th best second baseman of all time and the 35th best player of all time.

★ Biggio is noted for his superstitions. Biggio's chief superstition involves his batting helmet, which he does not change or clean throughout the entire season.

★ Biggio is a huge fan of the rock group U2, and a variety of their songs are played when Biggio comes to the plate during home games.

★ Craig was honored by the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 21st, when the Pirates retired Paul Waner's number. As the ceremony for Waner wrapped up, Pirates Announcer Lanny Frattare honored Biggio, and received a Standing ovation from the crowd at PNC Park.

★ Biggio was honored by the Atlanta Braves during the 10th inning in a game played at Atlanta on August 2, 2007. Craig was shown to be very emotional during the video tribute to him and the positive response from the fans.

★ When Chris Burke was asked who on the Astros team had the cleanest locker, he said that Biggio did. Because of his superstitions.

Awards

Gold Glove

★ 1994: National League Gold Glove (2nd Base)

★ 1995: National League Gold Glove (2nd Base)

★ 1996: National League Gold Glove (2nd Base)

★ 1997: National League Gold Glove (2nd Base)

Other Awards

★ 1989 NL Silver Slugger Award (C)

★ 1994 Baseball America NL All-Star 2B

★ 1994 NL Silver Slugger Award (2B)

★ 1995 NL Silver Slugger Award (2B)

★ 1997 NL Silver Slugger Award (2B)

★ 1997 Branch Rickey Award in recognition of his exceptional community service.

★ 1998 Houston Astros Player of the Year

★ 1998 NL Silver Slugger Award (2B)

★ 1998 Baseball America First-Team Major League All-Star 2B

★ 2004 Texas Baseball Hall of Fame inductee

★ 2004 Texas Sports Hall of Fame inductee

★ 2005 Hutch Award (honors baseball great Fred Hutchinson and is given annually to a major-league baseball player who best exemplifies his fighting spirit and competitive desire)

★ 2006 Heart and Hustle Award

Work in the community

Biggio has received awards from various organizations, including the Hutch Award (2005) and being named one of ''Sporting News' Good Guys (2004). The Hutch Award is given to a player that shows competitiveness and never gives up. Part of the reason Biggio was given the award was for his multiple position changes, but also because of his work in the community and inspriring other teammates to participate as well.
Craig Biggio has been a supporter and lead spokesperson for the Sunshine Kids Foundation for over a decade and almost the entirety of his playing career. The organization supports children fighting cancer with exciting activities for themselves and their families. Biggio helps the organization by raising awareness of the organization by wearing a small yellow sun on his cap for interviews and by holding a celebrity golf tournament in Houston each spring. Biggio hosts an annual party at Minute Maid Park for about 100 Sunshine Kids to play baseball with Biggio and some of his teammates.
With the 2006 annual golf tournament, Biggio has raised over $2 million for the organization. During the 2007 spring training, MLB informed Craig Biggio that he would no longer be allowed to wear the small yellow sun on his cap during interviews, photo shoots, or spring training. Biggio had worn the Sunshine Kids pin for over a decade. This edict was big news in Houston, and Houstonians, long known for their charitable nature and unconditional love of Biggio, reacted very negatively to MLB. After the public uproar, MLB relented and Biggio is allowed to wear the Sunshine Kids pin as he has done since becoming a spokesperson.^[4]

Notes

1. "Biggio reveals '07 will be last season", Alyson Footer, MLB.com, July 24, 2007.
2. Berardino, Mike "Craig Biggio—king of hit batsmen". ''Baseball Digest'', September 2005.
3. Carpenter, Les "Bruised and Battered, Biggio Nears Record". ''The Washington Post'', June 15, 2005.
4. McTaggart, Brian, "Biggio's pin approved by MLB," ''Houston Chronicle'', March 30, 2007, http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/4676830.html

External links

★

★

★ Sabermetrically comical analysis following Craig's HBPs [1]

★ Houston Astros.com Player Profile

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