The Immortal Insight: End of an Era

I'm a Rangers fan. No two ways about it. But, my family is full of Houston Astros fans, which is why Sunday was a particularly heartbreaking day. Sunday at Minute Maid Park was the end of the Astros era as our family knows it. Craig Biggio played in his last game. While everyone knew it was coming, since he announced it earlier in the season, it still has a sad impact and the Astros will definitely have a huge hole to fill. Not necessarily at second base where Chris Burke will play next year, but there will be a huge hole in the hearts of Astros fans across the country. I know that sounds corny but Biggio was just the kind of player to make you feel that way.

He started as a catcher, moved to second base, then to centerfield when Jeff Kent played with the Astros, then back to second base. He played every single one of his 20 years in the major leagues in an Astros uniform whether it was the throwback 80s striped uniforms or the black and gold uniforms or the new deep red uniforms, Biggio wore each of them proudly. In five years, the sports writers will be jumping aboard the Craig Biggio for Hall of Fame bandwagon and rightfully so, he earned the title of Hall-of-Famer. In a day and age of free agency where players are looking to go to the team that offers them the fattest contract or the juiciest incentives, Biggio stuck with his Astros through thick and thin. Luckily, he was able to share the feeling with his teammate Jeff Bagwell through much of those years.

Since I moved to Dallas, I wasn't able to see my grandparents' reaction to Biggio leaving but I'm sure my grandpa said, "Goddamn that Biggio was a helluva player," just as he leaned back in the couch and rubbed his hand to his chin. My grandma probably watched his last game from her bedroom not realizing the fact it was Biggio's last time. My grandparents idolize Craig Biggio and I can't help but think of them every time I hear his name. Now that he's retired, it's like a part of my grandparents are gone too. I know it sounds weird, but you have to understand my grandparents. They watch baseball games nearly every day and of the thousands of games they've watched in their lifetimes they can't remember the newer players unless they make a huge impact. They watched the majority of the Astros games this season but they couldn't pick Carlos Lee, Luke Scott or Woody Williams out of a lineup. No. The one player that always caught their attention was Biggio because he busted his ass for the same team for 20 years and never complained. Since moving, I miss the shout of my grandma in her bedroom yelling, "Manuel! Biggio!" To which my grandpa would grab his blind person's remote and put it on the game. I remember doing my homework, sitting at the kitchen table while my grandpa watched a game this season and he said, "Michael, Biggio's up." I looked and saw what they saw - the small player with a uniform too big for his body and a bat held straight up in the air, bearing down on the plate. Before I knew it I was out of my seat muttering, "Come on Biggio..." Then out of nowhere he smashes the ball into the Crawford Boxes in left field and my grandpa let out his patented, "Ha haaaa," and smacked his hands together. It's memories like that I'm going to miss of Biggio. Memories of my grandparents and I stuck to our seats at 1 a.m. hoping the Astros could score a damn run against the White Sox in the 2005 World Series. That World Series still remains my favorite of all time not because it was such a well-played four games by both teams, but because I watched every single minute of it with my grandparents who had waited decades to see the Astros - mainly Biggio and Bagwell - in the Fall Classic.

In five years, I'd be willing to bet my life Biggio gets into the Hall on the first ballot - especially adding 3,000 hits to his resume. There's no mistaking how much of an impact he left on the game and on the Astros. Biggio is the Astros. Ideally, and what I've been openly hoping for, is Biggio and Bagwell go into the Hall of Fame in the same year. I know Bags doesn't have the numbers to make it his first try, but when was the last time to teammates who played over 15 years each for the same team went into the Hall together? God willing, my grandparents will still be puttering around and if so, I would make it a point to set up whatever they needed and take them and my uncles to the induction ceremony. It would be a fitting tribute to the legend we all came to love.

Sadly, my grandparents won't be able to see another live Craig Biggio baseball game, but they've already found a new Astro, much like Biggio, to root for: Hunter Pence. I hear them talk about Pence the way they used to talk about Biggio and it eases a little bit of the sadness because I know I could go back home, turn on the Astros game and here my grandpa say, "Goddamn that Pence is a helluva player."

Farewell Biggio.