Hot Stove Special: Craig Biggio

Four players, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, and Craig Biggio, were elected to the Hall of Fame this year, and I have to say I agree that all four men are well deserving of the Hall of Fame. While I don’t feel strongly that any of the remaining candidates should have gotten in, I would strongly consider Jeff Bagwell and Mike Piazza had I been a voter.

Craig Biggio (82.7%): 291 HR, 1175 RBI, .281 AVG, 414 SB.

The only position player elected on this ballot, Biggio actually came just two votes shy of election in 2014 before easily making up for it this year. He is the first player in history to go into the Hall of Fame as a member of the Astros, and Houston couldn’t be happier to have the seven time All Star be their first. During an era dominated by power hitters like Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, and Ken Griffey Jr., Biggio quietly built a reputation as a hit machine who could be consistently counted on to get on base and score.

Craig Biggio grew up in Kings Park, New York, on Long Island. Like Johnson and Smoltz, he was a two sport star at his high school, Kings Park High School, but despite offers for football scholarships, the 5’11” Biggio went to Seton Hall University to play baseball. In 1987, the 21 year old catcher was drafted 22nd overall by the Houston Astros. By 1988, he was in the bigs, but he hit just .211 with three home runs and six stolen bases in a 50 game cup of coffee. However, he returned in 1989 to hit .257 with 13 home runs and 21 stolen bases, earning a Silver Slugger behidn the plate at just 23 years old. Though he couldn’t repeat his power numbers from 1989, everything else continued to develope for Biggio in 1991 as he hit .276 with four home runs and 25 stolen bases in 1990. In 1991, he hit .295 with four home runs and 19 stolen bases, making the NL All Star team as a catcher. However, the Astros were not comfortable with keeping their speedy leadoff hitter behind the plate, and he was moved to second base for the 1992 season. The move payed off, and Biggio hit .277 with six home runs and 38 stolen bases, making the All Star team as a second baseman. This made him the only player in major league history to make the All Star team at both positions, let alone in back to back seasons. Offensively, 1993 was Biggio’s breakout season. In 155 games, the 27 year old hit .287 with 21 home runs, 41 doubles, and 15 stolen bases while putting up a stellar .373 on-base percentage. Though his home runs dropped in 1994, he still finished the strike-shortened season with six home runs, 44 doubles, a .318 average, and 39 stolen bases in 114 games. His 44 doubles were second in all of baseball to Chuck Knoblauch’s 45, he earned his second Silver Slugger, and his defense netted him his first of four straight Gold Gloves. In 1995, he returned for his best season yet, batting .302 with 22 home runs, 77 RBI, and 33 stolen bases. He also set an Astros record by being hit by 22 pitches while winning another Silver Slugger and another Gold Glove. He played well again in 1996, batting .288 with 15 home runs and 25 stolen bases, earning another Gold Glove and leading the majors with 27 hit by pitches, extending his Astros record. 1997 was just as good, as he hit .309 with 22 home runs, 81 RBI, 47 stolen bases, and 146 runs scored, then an Astros record. He was also hit by 34 pitches, which stands as the third highest single season total of the modern era (post 1900). At 30 yearso old, he reached the playoffs for the first time, but garnerd just one hit in twelve at bats in the NLDS. In 1998, he stepped up his game again, putting up aguably his best season. In 160 games, he batted .325 with 20 home runs, 88 RBI, 50 stolen bases, 51 doubles, and 123 runs scored. His 210 hits and 51 doubles both established Astros records, though both have since been broken. Interestingly, Biggio became the first (and still only) National League player to hit 50 doubles and steal 50 bases in the same season; the only other player to accomplish the feat was American Leaguer Tris Speaker, who hit 53 doubles and stole 52 bases back in 1912. He finished fifth in the NL MVP voting. Biggio’s numbers dropped off a bit in 1999, though he still batted .294 with 16 home runs, 28 stolen bases. He knocked 56 doubles, breaking his own Astros record and setting a new one that still stands today. They were also the seventh most in National League history in a single season. He did not play up to his own standards in 2000, and when a season ending knee injury cut him down just 101 games in, he was batting .268 with eight home runs and twelve stolen bases. Knee healthy, he returned to put up a solid season in 2001, batting .292 with 20 home runs and 70 RBI, but his knee limited him to seven stolen bases. 2002 was a big disappointment, as the 36 year old Biggio hit just .253 with 15 home runs and 16 stolen bases. Moving to the outfield to accomodate for newcomer Jeff Kent in 2003, Biggio put up more of the same, hitting .264 with 15 home runs and eight stolen bases. However, he rebounded strongly in 2004, batting .281 with 24 home runs, 47 doubles, and 100 runs scored, leading the Astros back to the postseason for the first time since 2001. He homered and batted .400 in the NLDS, but hit just .188 in the seven game NLCS as the Astros were eliminated. Undeterred, he put up another big season in 2005, setting a career high with 26 home runs while batting .264 with eleven stolen bases and 40 doubles. The Astros again reached the postseason, and he hit .326 between the NLDS and the NLCS to help send Houston to the World Series. There, he hit .222 and scored three runs, but it wasn’t enough as the Astros lost all four games to the White Sox. Returning for his age 40 season in 2006, Biggio still managed to smack 21 home runs and 33 doubles, but he hit just .246 with three stolen bases. Starting 2007 at the age of 41, it was clear that Biggio’s career was coming to a close. On June 28th, he became just the 27th player in baseball history to reach 3000 hits, and a month later, announced that he would retire after the season. For a 41 year old, Biggio put up some pretty respectable numbers in that last season, batting .251 with ten home runs and 31 doubles in 141 games.

Craig Biggio ended his 20 year career with numerous Astros records. He has appeared in more games (2850) and had more at bats (10876) than any other Astro, and he also holds the team records for runs (1844), hits (3060), and doubles (668). He is second on the team’s all time lists in RBI (1175), walks (1160), and stolen bases (414), as well as third in home runs (291). Additionally, Biggio holds two very different major league records. His 50 leadoff home runs are the most in baseball history, while no player has been hit by more pitches than Biggio’s 285 (in the modern era). Astros-only records aside, his 668 doubles are fifth in major league history to only Tris Speaker, Pete Rose, Stan Musial, and Ty Cobb. His 1844 runs scored are 14th, and only 15 players have appeared in more games than Biggio’s 2850.

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Zack Silverman