First Baseman, Houston
Astros
Age: 26 (May 27)
4th 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
---
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
---
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.
--
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.
