MVP Profile: Jeff Bagwell, 1994

First Baseman, Houston Astros

Age:  26 (May 27)

4^th season with Astros

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’0”    Weight: 195

Prior to 1994:

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. He received NL Rookie of the Year honors after batting .294 with 15 home runs and 82 RBIs. 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.

1994 Season Summary

Appeared in 110 games

1B – 109, RF – 1, PH – 2

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 479 [14]

At Bats – 400

Runs – 104 [1]

Hits – 147 [2, tied with Dante Bichette]

Doubles – 32 [6]

Triples – 2

Home Runs – 39 [2]

RBI – 116 [1]

Bases on Balls – 65 [5]

Int. BB – 14 [5]

Strikeouts – 65

Stolen Bases – 15

Caught Stealing – 4

Average - .368 [2]

OBP - .451 [2]

Slugging Pct. - .750 [1]

Total Bases – 300 [1]

GDP – 12 [10, tied with Kevin Mitchell, Tim Wallach & Javier Lopez]

Hit by Pitches – 4

Sac Hits – 0

Sac Flies – 10 [3]

League-leading runs scored were +8 ahead of runner-up Marquis Grissom

League-leading RBIs were +20 ahead of runner-up Matt Williams

League-leading slugging percentage was +.069 ahead of runner-up Kevin Mitchell

League-leading total bases were +30 ahead of runner-up Matt Williams

Midseason snapshot: HR - 27, RBI - 82, AVG - .348, SLG PCT - .698

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Most hits, game – 4 on five occasions

Longest hitting streak – 18 games

Most HR, game – 3 (in 5 AB) vs. LA Dodgers 6/24

HR at home – 23

HR on road – 16

Multi-HR games – 5

Most RBIs, game – 6 vs. LA Dodgers 6/24

Pinch-hitting – 0 of 1 (.000) with 1 R

Fielding

Chances – 1051

Put Outs – 922

Assists – 120

Errors – 9

DPs - 94

Pct. - .991

Awards & Honors:

NL MVP: BBWAA

MLB Player of the Year: Sporting News

Silver Slugger

Gold Glove

All-Star

Top 5 in NL MVP Voting:

Jeff Bagwell, Hou.: 392 pts. – 28 of 28 first place votes, 100% share

Matt Williams, SF: 281 pts. – 72% share

Moises Alou, Mon.: 183 pts. – 47% share

Barry Bonds, SF: 144 pts. – 37% share

Greg Maddux, Atl.: 133 pts. – 34% share

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Astros went 66-49 to finish second in the NL Central Division, a half game behind the first place Cincinnati Reds, at the point in August that a players’ strike prematurely shut down the season and eliminated the postseason. The team led the NL in doubles (252) and RBIs (573).

Aftermath of ‘94:

A hand injury in 1995 caused Bagwell to miss a few weeks of action, during which the Astros went into 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 RBIs, 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.

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.