So the Astros have said goodbye to Jeff Bagwell as a player by not picking up his 2007 option. No surprise, and though Bags says he’s not necessarily finished as a player, I think we’ve seen him take the field for the last time. It’s rather a shame that he didn’t get to finish out a season before choosing to retire (assuming he does make such an announcement, which I expect). He deserved a chance to say goodbye in places other than Houston. I just hope that when the time comes to have Jeff Bagwell Day at the Juice Box, the game is televised nationally. And I hope it comes with an announcement that the Stros are retiring uniform number five.
While I agree that it makes all kinds of sense for the Stros to find another role for Bagwell within the organization, I say if he decides he wants to manage, let him seek a position wherever he can find it so that he can get the experience he’ll need. It’s not the end of the world if he wears another team’s colors. Joe DiMaggio was a Board of Directors member for both the Oakland As and Baltimore Orioles after his retirement, and life as we knew it went on apace. Think of it as training to eventually skipper the home team, if you must.
As for the Hall of Fame, I don’t think the Stros need to mount a PR campaign on his behalf. His career statistics speak for themselves, and there will be plenty of online activism plugging him as well. His reputation as a good guy who played clean won’t hurt, either.
Anyway. Jeff Bagwell, I salute you. Good luck in whatever you choose to do next. If that means communing with the couch and burning out a few TiVo remotes for a year or two, so be it. You’ve earned the right to take it easy if you want to.
How about this as a tribute to Bagwell? A corn maze out in Brookshire.
I’ll miss Bagwell.