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
When you come in here, it's no different from anybody else, ... except when the game starts.
What led me to this (decision) was the tremendous amount of pain that I just couldn't deal with anymore. I played a couple of days in a row. I came out that first game. Then I played a couple days and I got through it. And I was like, 'All right, let's see what's happening here.' I had to come out of the game in Detroit.
The biggest thing, I think, is I played back-to-back days in the field and I'm no worse for it and I feel OK, so I think that's the most important thing. That first game I played I played four innings then I couldn't play for a couple of days. Now, I've played four innings back to back so that's good.
It's always nice to get a hit, but if I didn't get a hit it still wouldn't mean anything. I don't believe I have to show I can hit. It's whether or not I can throw, hit, play a full game, play in back-to-back games and three games in a row and be able to still hit.
It's great for me, but it goes way beyond that, ... It's big for the team. We needed to win this game. Everybody knows how important every single game is, and tonight is no exception.
It's difficult. It's probably the most difficult thing to do in the game. You're just thrust into a situation where the game speeds up real quick. When you play every day, it's easy to slow it down. It's been a difficult adjustment.
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.
Hitting is no problem, the question is if I can make throws. I'll give it a try at first base in a game in about a week.
All in all, it was all right. The disappointment of the game got back real quick.
We win that game, it changes the whole series. But the bottom line is, we didn't, and we've got to deal with that.
It was a little sore to start with, but the more I went, the better it felt.
Eventually, he and I are going to have to sit down and talk. When that is, we'll figure it out at some point.
Easier said than done, ... It's not like the guy is throwing soft toss to me. It's hard in those situations. I loved the opportunity, and I wish I had the at-bat over again. That's just not the way it is.
The team can't wait on me. They need to know now. I think I'll honestly know if I can or can't.