The Craig Biggio Question
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by Rawbeezeitz
Craig Biggio will be retiring at the end of the season, ending a 20 year Major League career played entirely with the Houston Astros. Biggio meets the prerequisites for Hall of Fame eligibility and 5 years after retirement, he shall appear on the BBWA ballot for Hall of Fame election.
Does Craig Biggio belong in the Baseball Hall of Fame?
This article will try to present both arguments to the question. As I begin writing this, I’m really not sure if he belongs or not. I have no bias for or against Craig Biggio. To me, he’s always been a solid player that played ball in “that other League.” I’m a Red Sox fan so I never really watched much NL ball compared to the AL baseball I watch when watching the Sox.
Let’s start with the arguments for Craig Biggio belonging in the Hall of Fame.
Durability: Craig played for 20 years. In those 20 years, he has played in 2800 games. That’s including this season underway, and his first season, in which he played 50 games. He’s averaged exactly 140 games per season. He’s played in 150+ games 11 seasons. In 2006, when he was 40 years old, he played in 145 games.
Leadoff hitter: He’s scored 1,827 runs, which is 14th all-time. Ten of the 13 players ahead of him on that list are Hall of Famers (Frank Robinson, Mel Ott, Tris Speaker, Lou Gehrig, Stan Musial, Cap Anson, Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and Ty Cobb). The other three players ahead of him are Pete Rose (banned for life), Barry Bonds (still playing), and Rickey Henderson (not yet eligible to be elected). The next 14 players behind Biggio on the all-time runs scored list are all Hall of Famers.
He’s got 413 stolen bases, which is 61st all-time. But the era in which he’s played has not been the era of speed and small ball, it’s been the age of the homerun. Biggio is one of only 3 active players to have stolen 400+ bases. The other two are Barry Bonds and Kenny Lofton.
He’s been on base 4,457 times, which is 19th all-time. Fourteen of the players ahead of him on that list are in the Hall of Fame (the others are Rose, Bonds, Henderson, and Rafael Palmeiro). In the history of baseball, only 38 players have reached base more than 4,000 times, and 31 of them are in the Hall of Fame.
Despite spending his entire career in the National League, and spending most of that time leading off (which means he was hitting with the pitcher in front of him), he knocked in 1,160 RBI. RBI totals for NL leadoff hitters are usually small. Craig, however, was consistent, averaging 67 RBI per 162 games, knocking in more than 70 runs in 6 seasons.
Good fielder: Craig spent most of his career as a 2nd baseman. He won four Gold Gloves in a row at that position (1994-1997). He had a career .982 fielding percentage at 2 nd base. He never had a full season below .976 at 2 nd base. He also had a .989 fielding percentage as a catcher, and a .998 FP as a center-fielder.
Awards and accolades: Craig was an All-Star 7 times, 4 of which were as a starter. He was given the Branch Rickey Award in 1997, which is rewarded for community service. He won the Hutch Award in 2005 which is given to the player who “best exemplifies the fighting spirit and competitive desire to win.“ Past winners of the Hutch Award include: Mickey Mantle, Sandy Koufax, Carl Yastrzemski, Pete Rose, Willie McCovey, Willie Stargell, George Brett, Johnny Bench, and Paul Molitor. Craig has won 4 Gold Gloves, and 5 Silver Slugger awards (1 at catcher, 4 at 2nd base).
Playoffs: When Craig debuted with the Astros in 1988, the Astros had only won the division 3 times. During his tenure, the Astros won 4 division titles, made the playoffs six times, and won their first NL pennant. Houston won 3 playoff series with Biggio. In each playoff series won, Biggio hit better than .300.
Position: Craig’s position is not known for power, nor is it known for much offense at all. Only 18 players are in the Hall of Fame as 2 nd basemen. Even short-stop has more Hall of Famers with 22. Craig also showed a willingness to play where his team needed him to play. He played 427 games at catcher, 216 games at center-field, and 90 in left-field.
His best seasons: Craig’s best seasons were in the mid and late 90s. From 1993 to 1999 he scored 814 runs (116.3 per season), had 1,244 hits (177.7 per season), 122 homeruns (17.4 per season), 514 RBI (73.4 per season), 237 SBs (33.9 per season), and hit .303 over those 7 seasons. He won all his Gold Gloves in these seasons.
In 1997, 1998, and 1999, he had 589 hits, 58 homers, 125 stolen bases, and hit .309 combined in these 3 seasons.
Hits: He’s past the magical 3,000 hit mark. He’s 24 th all-time with 3,017 hits. If he gets 150 more at-bats this season, and hits .250 in those at-bats, he’ll end his career with 3,055 hits, which would tie him with Rickey Henderson for 20 th all-time. Every player that has ever hit 3,000 hits is in the Hall of Fame, if they are eligible. In fact, every player who has ever hit 2,800 or more hits, and is eligible, is in the Hall of Fame.
Finally, Craig played his entire career in one organization. He was drafted by Houston in 1987, rose quickly to the Majors, and spent 20 seasons as an Astro. He also played in the era of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. I’m going out on a limb here, but it’s safe to say that nobody has seriously or credibly accused Biggio of taking performance enhancing drugs. The guy weighs 180 soaking wet, and has gotten the most out of his ability over a long career.
Now let’s look at the arguments against Biggio being inducted.
He Just Played a Long Time: Craig has played 2,800 games, which has allowed him to rack up his career numbers. He is 21 st all-time in games played, he’s 13 th in at-bats with 10,707. He also is 12 th all-time with 12,322 plate appearances. He is 10 th all-time in outs with 8,137.
In the last 3 years, he has not been a top player. He’s hitting .250 in 2007, he hit .246 last year, and .264 in 2005. He’s gotten 378 hits in his last 3 seasons, which has put him over 3,000. Without those hits, he’s 68 th all-time in hits at 2,639.
He’s scored 224 runs in these last 3 seasons. Without those, he drops to 41 st all-time. He’s also gotten himself over the 1,000 RBI and 400 stolen base marks with these last 3 seasons.
He’s never been a dominant player: Craig’s never won an MVP. The closest he’s ever come was 1997 when he finished 4 th in the voting. He’s never won a batting title, and the highest he’s finished in average was 6 th in 1998. He’s only appeared in the top 10 in batting average twice. He’s only led the league in runs scored twice. Has never led the league in hits. Has only led the league in times on base once in 1997.
He’s only hit .300 four times. He’s had a .400+ OBP only 4 times. His highest slugging percentage was .503 in 1998. He’s finished in the top 10 in OBP only 4 times. He’s had 200+ hits only once. Has had 190+ hits twice. Has had 180+ hits 4 times. Has had 170+ hits 8 times.
His numbers just aren’t that amazing: Craig has a career OBP of .365, which isn’t that amazing. Less than half of his seasons have had OBPs over .375. He is 338 th all-time in OBP. To put this in perspective, he’s tied with Nomar Garciaparra and Julio Franco at .3646. He is .0003 ahead of Trot Nixon. OBP is a very important statistic for a leadoff hitter. And Craig doesn’t exactly have power numbers to counteract his less than spectacular OBP.
He’s scored a lot of runs, but for 15 seasons he had Jeff Bagwell hitting behind him. In other years he’s had Carl Everett, Richard Hidalgo, Moises Alou, and Derek Bell hitting behind him. He’s scored 100 runs 8 times in 20 years.
He’s never been the best player in baseball, in the NL, in his division, or even on his team. He’s been good for 20 years, never really great for any of those years, and has piled up solid career numbers, with his last three years slowly pushing him past certain milestones.
He has a .434 career slugging percentage. He has a career OPS of 0.799 which isn’t bad, but it isn’t that great.
Finally, he’s never won a World Series and has a .234 post-season average. His OBP is .297 in the playoffs.
Okay, now I’m going to compare Biggio to the other 18 2 nd base Hall of Famers. When considering a guy for the Hall of Fame, I think it’s important to ask “Would the addition of this player dilute the Hall of Fame, or make it better?”
Here are the 18 Hall of Fame 2nd basemen and short summaries of their careers and achievements:
Rod Carew - 18 time All-Star (14 time starter), 1967 Rookie of the Year, 1977 AL MVP, 1977 Player of the Year, 7 AL batting titles, 3,053 hits, 1,015 RBI, .328 career average, .393 career OBP.
Eddie Collins - 4 WS wins, 1914 AL MVP, top 5 in MVP voting 6 times (including twice in 2 nd), 1,821 runs, 3,315 hits, 1,300 RBI, 744 stolen bases, .333 career average, .424 career OBP. Also won 174 games as a manager, with 160 losses.
Bobby Doerr - 9 time All-Star (5 as a starter), hit .409 in his only World Series (1946), 1,094 runs, 1,247 RBI, .288 career average, was inducted by the Veterans Committee 35 years after he retired.
Johnny Evers - 3 WS rings, 1914 NL MVP, .270 average, .356 OBP, God knows why he is in the Hall.
Nellie Fox - 12 time All-Star (8 time starter), 1959 AL MVP, 3 Gold Gloves, 1,279 runs, .288 career average (good for the era in which he played). Only 216 strikeouts in 9,232 at-bats (4 th best K to AB ratio ever)
Frankie Frisch - 4 WS rings, 8 NL championships, .294 average in World Series play, 3 time All-Star, 1931 NL MVP, 1,532 runs, 2,880 hits, 1,244 RBI, 272 strikeouts in 9,112 ABs, .316 lifetime average, player/manager from 1933 to 1937, 1,138-1,078 record as a manager with 1 WS ring.
Charlie Gehringer - WS ring, 6 time All-Star, all as a starter. 1937 AL MVP, 3 times in top 5 of MVP voting, 8 times in top 10. 1937 batting champ. 1,774 runs, 2,839 hits, 1,427 RBI, 372 strikeouts in 8,860 at-bats, with 1,186 walks, career .320 average, .and .404 OBP.
Frank Grant - Negro League player and player in the International League before baseball segregated in 1887. Hit .344 in his IL career with Buffalo. Once stole home twice in a game.
Billy Herman - 10 All-Star games (6 as a starter), no MVPs but top 5 in voting 3 times, and 5 times in top 10. 1,163 runs, .304 career average. Made Hall of Fame 28 years after retirement.
Rogers Hornsby - 1 WS ring, 2 Triple Crowns, 2 MVPs, 4 times in top 3 of MVP voting, 7 batting titles, 2 nd highest average ever, 8 th best OBP, 13 th best slugging, 10 th best OPS (1.010), 1,579 runs, 2,930 hits, 1,584 RBI, .358 career average, .434 career OBP, .577 career slugging, arguably the best 2 nd basemen ever. Player/Manager from 1925 to 1937.
Nap Lajoie - 1901 Triple Crown, 5 time batting champion, 1,504 runs, 3,242 hits, 1,599 RBI, 83 deadball HR, .338 career average, .380 career OBP.
Tony Lazzeri - 5 WS rings, 1 All-Star game, .292 average, inducted 52 years after he retired.
Bill Mazeroski - 2 WS rings, .323 playoff average, 7 time All-Star, 1960 ML Player of the Year, 8 Gold Gloves, .260 career average. .260!
Bid McPhee - 1,678 runs, 2,250 hits, 53 deadball HR, 1,067 RBI, 568 steals, .270 career average. Inducted 101 years after retirement.
Joe Morgan - 2 WS rings, 10 time All-Star (7 as a starter), 2 time MVP, 2 time MLB Player of the Year, 5 Gold Gloves, 1 Silver Slugger, 5 times in top 10 MVP voting, 1,650 runs, 1,133 RBI, .392 career OBP.
Jackie Robinson - 1 WS ring, 6 time All-Star (5 as a starter), 1947 Rookie of the Year, 1949 NL MVP, 1949 batting champion, 947 runs in 10 seasons, 1,518 hits in 10 seasons, 734 RBI in 10 seasons, 197 steals in 10 seasons, .311 career average, .409 career OBP. Didn’t play until he was 28 so he missed some of his best years. Broke MLB color barrier.
Ryne Sandberg - 10 time All-Star, 9 times as a starter, 1984 NL MVP, 1984 MLB Player of the Year, 9 Gold Gloves, 7 Silver Sluggers, .385 average in 2 playoff series, 1,318 runs, 1,061 RBI, .285 career average.
Red Schoendienst - 2 WS rings, 10 time All-Star, 4 time starter, 1,223 runs, .289 career average.
Now, if Johnny Evers, Bill Mazeroski, Bobby Doerr, and Tony Lazzeri are Hall of Famers, then not inducting Biggio would be unfair. If those guys belong, so does Craig. He’s no Rogers Hornsby, Rod Carew, Ryne Sandberg, Joe Morgan, Charlie Gehringer, or Frank Grant. But in my opinion, his addition to the Hall will not dilute or degrade what it is to be a Hall of Famer. Bill Mazeroski diluted the Hall of Fame, as did Johnny Evers. Tony Lazzeri wouldn’t be in if he weren’t a Yankee, Bobby Doerr might not be in if he weren’t on the Red Sox.
Conclusion: Biggio belongs in the Hall of Fame, but not as a first-ballot Hall of Famer. You can argue that he simply played for a long time and built up his numbers, but he was able to play for a long time, and play for the same team. It isn’t as if he latched on to some team like Tampa and piled up his stats. He was never the best at any given time, but some consideration has to be given for a guy who has played very good baseball for 2 decades.
