Jeff Bagwell
Jeff Bagwell
Jeffrey Robert Bagwellis an American former professional baseball first baseman and coach who spent his entire fifteen-year Major League Baseballplaying career with the Houston Astros. Originally, the Boston Red Sox selected him from the University of Hartford as a third baseman in the fourth round of the 1989 amateur draft. The Red Sox traded Bagwell to the Astros in 1990; the next season he made his MLB debut and was named the National LeagueRookie of the Year. The NL Most...
ProfessionBaseball Player
Date of Birth27 May 1968
CityBoston, MA
We talked about taking a month or so to try to strengthen my shoulder and try to see how my shoulder reacted to non-baseball things. Not throwing a baseball, not hitting a baseball every day.
He did a lot of good things for baseball in this city, and it's really unfortunate that the one thing he's remembered for is letting Nolan Ryan leave,
There's no other situation this would be OK. A normal guy, that wasn't going to play. It fit for our situation at the time. It's not something I would advocate. But Roger Clemens is a gift from the baseball gods. Anything he does is a gift. ... Craig (Biggio) and I have never had a ring. Our best opportunity to get one was to have Roger around. He tends to his obligations, his kids. And it's not like the man comes in here and pitches five innings and gives up six every day.
It's going to come to an end. We know that. We're not talking about a 23-year-old rookie. We're talking about a 43-year-old guy who has been there, done that. Eventually -- whether it's the next two weeks or the next two years -- this thing is going to end. So I'm just grateful I had the opportunity to play baseball with him. As a kid who grew up as a Boston Red Sox fan to where I am today, it's been an honor.
I said I wasn't going to embarrass myself, and I felt like this was a joke. I don't have a problem with my work ethic. I don't have a problem with determination. But I can't control what's going on in my shoulder.
Over any short period, pitching can carry a team. We've got the kind of pitching than can give you the chance to win game after game after game.
I thought it all went well. I was just trying to get the (bat) head out. In general I guess I did. I hit the ball on the barrel, which is good. It's coming. I just need to keep hitting. It takes awhile to get those muscles strong again.
I think the teams are to blame. They start out by giving guys out of high school millions of dollars and contracts that guarantee they'll be in the big leagues by a certain time. Then they coddle them all the way through the system. They get used to having things given to them rather than having earned them.
I wouldn't say I'm all the way back, I'm just pinch-hitting. I'm capable of doing that.
Just to get out here, get back on the field, I felt like it was a little bit of a trial camp today. I felt like I almost had to try and prove something, but yet I've got to sit back and say, 'No, I don't, I just have to get ready for April 1.
You just know it. The group just believes in each other. It's a special group.
That doesn't count. To be honest with you guys, I'm not really looking to throw. I guess everyone else is.
Locating on the outside corner, getting confidence with his outside fastball, hitting his spots, ... When he does that, he's tough to hit.
I wish I could've done a little bit more.