Bagwell urges making most of title window
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Broadcaster Geoff Blum extended a hand to greet a former teammate at Astros camp.
“Good to see ya, kid,” Blum said.
On the other end of the handshake, a 49-year-old Hall of Fame first baseman recognized the sarcasm and glared back.
“‘Kid,’ ” Jeff Bagwell said before warning Blum: “I’ve got your phone number.”
Bagwell, self-deprecating and sincere as usual, began his work as special instructor at Astros camp Wednesday. He did not win a World Series in his 15-year career exclusively with Houston, but being in Los Angeles to see the Astros beat the Dodgers to win the franchise’s first title changed him.
“I was jealous/ecstatic,” he said. “I don’t know if you can be both, but I was jealous that I was not part of that, because I never got to feel that, but I was ecstatic because of these kids.
“It was just the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. That parade that we had — I’d never seen anything like that. With all the devastation we had with (Hurricane) Harvey, to have this happen that year, it was just special.”
He believes the current crop of Astros also is special.
“They’re a machine right now,” Bagwell said. “As great as last year was, there’s such an opportunity for us to continue this. We’re a good team. We’re going to be a good team for a while.”
Bagwell repeatedly has emphasized the confidence the Astros gained by defeating the Red Sox in four games, the Yankees in seven and the Dodgers in seven for the title. The Astros seized a place atop baseball’s hierarchy.
“They know they’re better than the teams they’re playing against,” Bagwell said. “That’s a great feeling to have.”
Bagwell is excited to see 21-year-old outfielder Kyle
Tucker, the franchise’s top position player prospect, who has hit well this spring.
“I’ve seen enough of the veterans,” Bagwell said. “I watched more baseball last year I think than I’ve watched in my entire life. So I got a pretty good handle on them. But they need somebody to make fun of them, too.”
Said Astros manager A.J.
Hinch of Bagwell: “It’s always nice having him around. He’ll lend a hand and an ear. I joked with him this morning: He was back around our club before this winning. He came in 2015, his first return to being around spring training and Kissimmee.”
Bagwell emphasized the importance of the Astros’ rejecting complacency.
“They got a taste of winning at a young age. That’s a win-win proposition right there,” he said. “They’re growing in their career, and our organization is getting bigger and bigger and better and better.”
Using strikeout and no-hitter king Nolan Ryan as an example, Bagwell noted “it’s not that easy” to get to the World Series. He said he and his fellow Hall of Famer have spoken about Ryan’s making the 1969 World Series in his second full year as a Mets pitcher and not returning in his 24 subsequent major league seasons.
“You never know when it’s going to come,” Bagwell said. “You don’t play forever, so you’ve got to take advantage of the time they’ve got with the club they have to take advantage and win.”
Curveballs can wait, says McCullers
Before taking the mound in his spring debut Wednesday, Lance McCullers Jr. explained his approach on Twitter: No “bangers.”
McCullers, a pitcher known for throwing 24 consecutive curveballs in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series last year, did not throw his breaking ball in two scoreless innings against the Twins.
He is not using his curveball until he feels like he has honed the command of his fastball and changeup. He said he used his breaking ball too much too soon this time last year.
“My breaking ball was already in a situation to where I could throw it in games if I needed to,” he said after his outing, which came in a 4-2 Astros loss. “There was just too much temptation because (I was) being competitive. I kind of handcuffed myself.”
Against the Twins, he threw “nine or 10” changeups and 17 of 27 pitches for strikes.
“Being able to see that I can still pitch effectively with the two pitches that I have is good for me,” McCullers said.