Biggio, Bagwell laud teammate's HOF election

This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart's Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

HOUSTON -- There were no players with an Astros cap on their plaque at the National Baseball Hall of Fame until second baseman Craig Biggio -- who played his entire 20-year career in Houston -- was voted into the Hall in 2015. First baseman Jeff Bagwell -- another lifetime Astro – joined him two years later, giving Houston fans two legends in Cooperstown they could call their own.

With former Astros slugger Lance Berkman falling off the ballot in his first year of eligibility in 2019 and former closer Billy Wagner slipping to 10.2 percent of the vote in his second year on the ballot in 2017, it seemed Biggio and Bagwell would have to wait until second baseman Jose Altuve is eligible to potentially see another Astros cap immortalized in bronze.

A decade after Biggio’s election, Wagner will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in July after being elected in his 10th and final year on the ballot. Bagwell, Biggio and Wagner were teammates in Houston from 1995-2003, and they were cornerstone players on a team that won four National League Central division titles in five seasons (1997-99, 2001).

Wagner said he will have an Astros cap on his Hall of Fame plaque. He pitched most of his career in Houston, where he’s the franchise’s all-time saves leader.

"I'm ecstatic,” Bagwell said. “It's so cool, the fact that the three of us played together and especially played together in some of our primes. That was an amazing feat, and to wear an Astros cap would be the ultimate thing to have the three of us together all in the same place.”

Wagner saved a club-record 225 games in his nine years with Houston, making three All-Star teams and finishing fourth in the 1999 NL Cy Young Award voting. His ’99 season was one of the most dominant by any closer in history, with 39 saves, a 1.57 ERA, 124 strikeouts (14.95 strikeouts per nine innings) and just 35 hits allowed in 74 2/3 innings.

“We had a lot of success over the years together, and you're not having the success we had without a Billy Wagner,” Biggio said. “When can you turn the ball over to a guy like that in the ninth inning, it's game, set, match, usually. For us to have that at the back end of a team that was very successful for a long period of time, totally deserving of him getting his credit."

The 1998 Astros team that won a then-club-record 102 games and captured the NL Central division was considered the best team in franchise history prior to the 2017 team winning the World Series. The ’98 team featured four Hall of Famers -- Bagwell, Biggio, Wagner and pitcher Randy Johnson, who was acquired at the Trade Deadline.

Still, Houston’s best player in 1998 might have been outfielder Moises Alou, who slashed .312/.399/.582 with 38 homers, 124 RBIs and 104 runs en route to a third-place NL MVP finish. Biggio finished fifth and Bagwell somehow didn’t get any MVP votes despite a .981 OPS, 34 homers, 111 RBIs, 124 runs and 109 walks.

“That '98 team was as good as any team I’ve seen,” Bagwell said. “Unfortunately, we ran into [right-hander] Kevin Brown twice in three games [during an NLDS loss to the Padres] at his peak, and that’s what can happen in a five-game series. I remember sitting in the back of the bus and looking down the aisle and thinking, ‘Oh my God, this is a freaking good team.’ Unfortunately, it didn’t work for us, and that’s what happens in the playoffs.”

Bagwell lauded Wagner for walking away from the game after his age-38 season while he was still dominant so he could spend more time with his family. Wagner had a shot at 500 saves had he pitched another two or three seasons -- a mark that could have made him a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

“[Wagner] could have stayed around and compiled more numbers and stuff like that, but he did it his way and he was a great teammate,” Bagwell said. “Even when things were bad, he was always positive and ready to take the ball the next day. He’s everything you could ever want in a closer and one of the most dominating closers of all time.”

Biggio and Bagwell will be in the crowd to welcome Wagner into Cooperstown when he is inducted along with Dave Parker, Dick Allen, Ichiro Suzuki and CC Sabathia.

“I know Billy’s going to be panicking, because the hardest thing you have to do is make that speech,” Biggio said. “We’ll have fun with Billy from that standpoint. He’ll do a great job. He’s a very articulate guy and he’ll knock it out. I’m just happy for him, man.”