Before the Houston Astros game against the Pittsburgh Pirates this afternoon Jeff Bagwell had his number 5 retired at Minute Maid Park.
Bagwell, born in Boston and raised in Killingworth CT, played 15 years with Astros hitting .297 with 449 HRs. He was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 4th round in 1989 out of the University of Hartford and made his major league debut in 1991 with Houston.
Bagwell is part of Red Sox lore in that he was traded in 1990 for relief pitcher Larry Anderson who the Sox needed for a late season playoff push. Anderson never played for Boston beyond the end of the 1990 season while Bagwell went on to be the 1991 National League Rookie of the Year.
Bagwell, a four-time all-star, was also the 1994 NL MVP when he hit a career high .368 (second to Tony Gwynn’s .394) with 39 HRs and a 116 RBI in only 110 games. He nearly won a second MVP in 1999 when he finished second to Atlanta’s Chipper Jones. He also finished 3rd in 1997.
Bagwell becomes the eighth Astro player to have his number retired joining Nolan Ryan, Mike Scott, Jim Wynn, Larry Dierker, Jose Cruz, Don Wilson and Jim Umbricht.
