CRAIG BIGGIO: GOOD GUYS DO FINISH FIRST

Four players were inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame today.  Randy Johnson, John Smoltz, Pedro Martinez and Craig Biggio.  We here at BYB congratulate all of them, but we're gonna take this space up and chat about just one of those guys.  We're gonna write about Biggio.

Craig was a member of the much vaunted Killer B’s in the 1990s, and now Craig Biggio can also say that he’s a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Astros’ second baseman was elected to the Hall with 82.7 percent of the vote. This was Biggio’s third time on the ballot—last year he was just two votes shy of reaching Cooperstown.

After coming off a sour Hall of Fame vote last year in which no player got elected thanks to the legacy of the steroid era, it’s gratifying as a fan to see a player like Biggio get a plaque in the Hall. It’s no mistake that he is the only position player that was voted in this year. As you know, the other three were pitchers.

Biggio has all the numbers to justify his election to baseball’s highest honor. In his 20 years in Houston, he amassed 3,060 hits, 668 doubles, 414 stolen bases and a .281 average in 2,850 games. He was also the first player ever to record more than 600 doubles, 250 homers, 3,000 hits and 400 stolen bases. Oh yeah, he also had seven All-Star appearances as well.

But what stands out about Biggio as a player was not his stats, it was his heart. Biggio was a scrappy player and a hustler. He was someone you wanted to emulate on and off the field.  That leads into a statement made exclusively for us to broadcast here at BYB to Biggio.

It comes from Biggio's college friend and former student manager at Seton Hall University, Mike Cocco. Coke says of Biggio:

"Biggio showed baseball what loyalty and determination is all about. He hustled on and off the field from the day he stepped onto the field of Seton Hall University until the day he retired from the Houston Astros. Class act and a great role model for all current and future players."

A great quote for a great guy, by a great guy, Mike Cocco.  As much as Biggio was dedicated to the game though, he also gave to his community. Biggio was frequently recognized by the league for his charity work and was named one The Sporting News’ Good Guys in 2004.

So congratulations to Craig and his family for being honored this year. It’s nice to see one of the good guys be recognized for his hard work.

--Alexis Garcia, BYB's "Eye on MLB" Columnist
Twitter:  @heylexyg





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