Bagwell feeling a new sense of brotherhood
As is common for classmates, bond with Raines, Rodriguez being forged
NEW YORK — Often when a player is elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, there is some question as to which team’s cap he will be wearing on his plaque in Cooperstown.
Very little to no such suspense existed this year, but for clarity’s sake, both Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez (Texas Rangers) and Tim Raines (Montreal Expos) were asked Thursday which team they wished to represent. Befor Raines offered his response, he playfully nudged the man seated to his right to answer first. Jeff Bagwell smiled. “I’m an Astro, man,” he said. The exchange elicited laughs from many of those who filled a 20thfloor ballroom at a luxurious Manhattan hotel, where a day after their election baseball’s three newest Hall of Famers shared a dais r the first time. Seated side by side, Bagwell, Raines and Rodriguez told stories and cracked jokes, all the while attempting to soak in their newfound status among the immortals of their sport. The trio played for a
“I used to go to first base, and I’m one of the guys that liked to always talk to first basemen, kind of get them going. He’s one of the few guys that never said a word. This is the first time I’ve ever heard his voice.” Tim Raines, 2017 Hall of Fame inductee, on Astro Jeff Bagwell’s playing style
combined 10 major league teams. Raines and Rodriguez account for nine of those.
“We’re just having fun. This is just a great time,” Bagwell said once the formal press conference had ended. “Craig (Biggio) told me this, too: The class you go in with, it becomes a bonding friendship. It’s very, very neat. I’m just enjoying it.”
An hour earlier, Bagwell had swapped his blue blazer for a tan-colored Hall of Fame jersey and a blue Hall of Fame cap. Speaking first among the three players, the iconic former Astros first baseman again described the “surreal” feeling of achieving baseball’s highest honor.
Later, he joked why in his mind the Class of 2017 is “the greatest Hall of Fame class ever.”
“Because I’m the tallest one in the entire class, and I’m happy about that,” said Bagwell, who at 6 feet has three inches on Rodriguez and four on Raines.
Rodriguez, an Astro for 93 games in 2009, quickly shot back with his retort.
“But he was the shortest hitter in baseball,” he said, alluding to the unusual crouch in Bagwell’s batting stance.
The three shared memories of playing against one another. Raines, 57, particularly recalled the times he played against Bagwell, who is nine years his junior.
“I used to go to first base, and I’m one of the guys that liked to always talk to first basemen, kind of get them going. He’s one of the few guys that never said a word,” Raines said with a smile. “This is the first time I’ve ever heard his voice.”
Bagwell joked he’s still mad at Rodriguez for picking him off first base once in a spring training game.
“I wasn’t really paying attention, and I just don’t think that’s right,” he said to laughs.
Bagwell also, of course, paid tribute to Biggio, his
teammate of 15 years and now a fellow Hall of Famer. Bagwell said “appreciating what other people do to make you better” was “a big part of our team” and that he was “very, very fortunate I had Craig Biggio, who did that for me.”
Bagwell arrived in New York City from Houston late Wednesday night, mere hours after receiving the call from the Hall of Fame. After Thursday’s afternoon news conference, he was on the move again — this time along with Raines and Rodriguez to nearby Secaucus, N.J., where the trio appeared in studio on MLB Network.
Just a day in the life of a Hall of Famer.
“To be in this situation, to be in the Hall of Fame, it’s crazy, man,” said Bagwell, who is set to take part in another news conference Monday at Minute Maid Park, where the Astros will then hold a public rally at 5 p.m. to celebrate his election. “I couldn’t be more happy to be here. I’m just trying to take this all in.”