Craig Biggio announces his retirement today

[CoventryCat86]

Craig Biggio announced today he will retire at the end of the season.

Today against the Dodgers, with the game tied at 3-3 in the sixth and the bases loaded and two outs, he hits a GRAND SLAM and the crowd goes crazy in Minute Maid Park! :thumbs:

Craig is from Smithtown, NY and graduated from Seton Hall University in New York City. He played his entire major league career with the Houston Astros starting in 1988. He hit his 3000th hit this year on June 28th and went 5 for 5 that day. At the moment, his career batting average is .282 with 661 career doubles. He started his career with the Astros as a catcher and has said he'd like to catch one more inning before he retires in the Astros final series with the Braves.

I've really enjoyed watching Craig as I've followed the Astros all these years and he will be missed by many.

Thank you Craig for twenty great years!

 

[beaucredo]

As a fan of Biggio i think that the Astro's should trade him to a contender to give him a chance of a W.S. win. i appreciate what he has done for the sport, and he deserves a world series. What do you think C.C.?

Sorry in advance if this turns into a threadjack.

 

[AVB]

You can see where he fits in in baseball by looking at his milestones here.

 

[beaucredo]

You can see where he fits in in baseball by looking at his milestones here.

thanks for the link :thumbs:

 

[spiffykyle]

As soon as I heard this I bought tickets to the 9/30 game, his last. Biggio has been my favorite player as long as I've loved baseball and the Astros. I grew up cheering for Bidge from the rainbow seats in the Dome. He's a definite Hall of Famer and one of the truley "good guys" in the game today. I think when he trots out in Catcher's gear at some point during the last game, MMP will just go absolutely crazy (brings a tear to my eye).

It will be a sad day for me when he trots off the field for the final time, but I'm glad he's retiring on his own terms instead of drifting off into obscurity.

As a fan of Biggio i think that the Astro's should trade him to a contender to give him a chance of a W.S. win. i appreciate what he has done for the sport, and he deserves a world series. What do you think C.C.?

Sorry in advance if this turns into a threadjack.

Absolutely not. And I think if you brought this up to Biggio himself he would tell you no as well. He's an Astro and wants nothing more than to be an Astro. He took a paycut and changed positions just so he could stay an Astro a few years ago. I honestly don't think a WS ring is worth more to him than his team. He wouldn't feel the same about it with another team.

I'm sure he'll eventually end up like Baggy, with a personal services contract and maybe even a coaching stint some day. We'll get him a ring then.

Here's to you Bidge, its been fun.

spiffy
#7 in every sport I ever played

 

[CoventryCat86]

beaucredo, I agree with Kyle, I don't think Biggio would want that. I think reaching the 3000 hits means more to him that a World Series win and he wants to retire as an Astro.

The 9/30 games is against the Braves! From what I understand, if the Braves are either already in or already out of the playoff race at that point (meaning that the game is not important to the Braves), Biggio will catch for one inning.

Kyle, I ALMOST flew down to MMP for Clemens last start in September of last year.....when they were saying it could very well be his last game as an Astro (as it turned out, it was). I was sitting home at about 11:00pm the night before, I confirmed I could by a SRO ticket for $10.00, I had the airline schedule all figured out, I could get the flights, hotel and rental car for a reasonable price but I chickened out at the last minute....

The Astros WON the game and I'm still ticked at myself for not going.

Oh, when I first really got into following the Astros, Jose Cruz was my favorite player and it's great to see him now as the first base coach! :thumbs: Biggio and Bagwell came after that but they are without a doubt two of the "best" in the history of the franchise.

 

[beaucredo]

I understand your point of view, and I personally think it should be Craig's decision I come from a town (colorado) that traded Larry Walker in his final years in order to give Larry a chance for a ring. I think it depends on the player, and it depends on the team.

I personally wish Craig Biggio the best in his final year! He has been a Braves killer, but really fun to watch.

 

[Strayvector]

One of the classiest players ever. I think I have his rookie card (showing him as a catcher) buried somewhere.

 

[Allofus123]

I ALMOST flew down to MMP for Clemens last start in September of last year.....

I had good tickets for that one.

What makes Biggeo so great is that most people don't know much about him and when you look at his career stats its just mind boggling. He's not a big attention monger and he does his job day in and day out without all the fanfare.

He's an Astro and will retire an Astro. Its not even a consideration by the club to trade him... he doesn't want to be traded.

I suppose I better start getting my tickets lined up. You coming down Bill? If so let me know soon.

 

[Turk10mm]

I too have his Rookie card. I was a catcher in 1988. I was 12 years old and I of course got my mit signed by him. The rainbow seats were the bomb. When Enron Field was built, Astros baseball was over for me.

I'm a Dome guy. I watched the Oilers and the Astros during the glory days of "Love ya Blue"..

Now, its just a money making event where its not about the game..

Biggio was about the game. One of the few. I too am going to his last game to cheer him off the field.

 

[spiffykyle]

I got his and Baggy's rookie cards signed a few of years ago at the Fanfest at MMP. They are both really great guys. My wife's great aunt is a nun and apparently Biggio does work with her convent quite often. I keep trying to get her to tip me off when he's going to be there but she won't, and i can't badmouth a nun.

I loved the Dome, but not the turf. If they could put grass in the Dome it would have been near perfect. I have to admit though, even the cheap seats at MMP (formerly Enron, or TenRun as most people call it nowadays) give a great view. I remember needing binoculars to see the action from the cheap seats in the Dome. MMP is a nice park.

I think the Astros players are more about the game than a lot of other teams as a whole, and Biggio and Bagwell had a lot to do with that. Most, if not all, of the players on the team today say that they looked up to those two.

It's kind of selfish, but I hope Bagwell doesn't get into the Hall on his first ballot so that he and Biggio can go in together. I'd definitely make a trip to Cooperstown to see that.

spiffy