Age: 23 (May 27)
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’0” Weight: 195
Prior to 1991:
A soccer and
baseball player in high school in Connecticut, Bagwell received a baseball
scholarship to attend the University of Hartford, where he played third base
and excelled, also playing summer baseball in the Cape Cod League. Chosen by
the Boston Red Sox in the 1989 amateur draft, Bagwell hit for average (.310)
without much power for Winter Haven in the Class A Florida State League in ’89
and advanced to the Class AA New Britain Red Sox of the Eastern League where he
hit .333 with 34 doubles, 7 triples, and 4 home runs in 1990 prior to being
traded to the Astros for RHP Larry Andersen. With first baseman Glenn Davis
traded to Baltimore, a spot in the lineup was open for Bagwell in 1991, and he
successfully adapted to the new position.
1991 Season Summary
Appeared in 156
games
1B – 155, PH –
4
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate Appearances
– 650 [10]
At Bats – 554
Runs – 79
Hits – 163 [12]
Doubles – 26
Triples – 4
Home Runs – 15
RBI – 82 [20]
Bases on Balls
– 75 [10, tied with Darryl Strawberry]
Int. BB – 5
Strikeouts – 116
[7, tied with Kal Daniels]
Stolen Bases – 7
Caught Stealing
– 4
Average - .294 [13,
tied with John Kruk]
OBP - .387 [5]
Slugging Pct. -
.437
Total Bases – 242
[18, tied with Steve Finley]
GDP – 12 [18,
tied with six others]
Hit by Pitches
– 13 [1]
Sac Hits – 1
Sac Flies – 7 [11,
tied with nine others]
League-leading
times hit by pitches were +4 ahead of runner-up Lonnie Smith
Midseason
snapshot: HR - 8, RBI - 36, AVG - .299, OBP - .387
---
Most hits, game
– 3 on eleven occasions
Longest hitting
streak – 13 games
Most HR, game –
1 on fifteen occasions
HR at home – 6
HR on road – 9
Multi-HR games
– 0
Most RBIs, game
– 4 at San Francisco 7/2
Pinch-hitting –
2 of 4 (.500) with 1 HR, 2 RBI
Fielding
Chances – 1388
Put Outs – 1270
Assists – 106
Errors – 12
DP – 97
Pct. - .991
Awards & Honors:
NL Rookie of the
Year: BBWAA
NL ROY Voting (Top
4):
Jeff Bagwell,
Hou.: 118 pts. – 23 of 24 first place votes, 98% share
Orlando Merced,
Pitt.: 53 pts. – 1 first place vote, 44% share
Ray Lankford,
StL: 28 pts. – 23% share
Brian Hunter,
Atl.: 7 pts. – 6% share
---
Astros went 65-97
to finish sixth (last) in the NL Western Division, 29 games behind the
division-winning Atlanta Braves.
Aftermath of ‘91:
Bagwell
followed up with strong seasons in 1992 and ’93, with his home runs rising to
18 and 20, respectively, and he batted .320 in 1993. That set the stage for a
MVP performance in the strike-shortened 1994 season, as he hit 39 home runs and
drove in a league-leading 116 runs. Bagwell also topped the NL by scoring 104
runs and compiling a .750 slugging percentage and 300 total bases. He was an
All-Star selection for the first time. A hand injury in 1995 caused him to miss
a few weeks of action, during which the Astros went in a slump that knocked
them out of postseason contention. Bagwell followed up with several outstanding
seasons, leading the NL in runs scored in 1999 and 2000, drawing 149 walks in
’99, and hitting 42 home runs with 126 RBIs in ’99 and 47 home runs in 2000
with 132 RBIs. Houston won four Central
Division titles from 1997 through 2001, but consistently underperformed in the
postseason. A shoulder injury that required surgery hampered Bagwell in 2001
and, while he hit 39 home runs and knocked in 130, his performance began to
drop off, both at bat and on the field in 2002 and ‘03. Further shoulder
surgery in 2005 limited him to 39 games, although he was active for the
postseason that resulted in Houston’s first World Series appearance, a loss to
the Chicago White Sox. An unsuccessful attempt to return in the spring of 2006
forced his retirement. Overall, in a major league career spent entirely with
the Astros, Bagwell hit 449 home runs with 1529 RBIs and a .297 batting
average. He reached 40 home runs three times and 30 on nine occasions. He also
reached 100 RBIs eight times with a high of 135 in 1997. A four-time All-Star,
Bagwell was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2017, overcoming concerns
about his peak seasons occurring during the “steroid era”. The Astros retired
his #5.
--
Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of
the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America
(1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from
its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major
league.
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