I-70 Baseball Exclusives Cooperstown Choices 2013

Cooperstown Choices: Craig Biggio

Bill Ivie

With the Hall Of Fame election announcement coming on January 9, 2013, it is time to review the ballot, go over the names, and decide who belongs in the Hall Of Fame.

There are twenty four men on the ballot for the first time this year and we will take a look at each one individually prior to official announcements. You can find all of the profiles in the I-70 Baseball Exclusives: Cooperstown Choices 2013 menu at the top of the page.

In this article, we take a look at Craig Biggio

 

Craig Biggio
After a 20 year career that featured seven all star appearances, the lifetime Astro will be featured on the Hall Of Fame ballot for the first time.  He would notch a silver slugger award as a catcher and four more as a second baseman.  He rounded out his offensive prowess with three Gold Glove Awards in his career.

Year Tm G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
1988 HOU 50 123 14 26 6 1 3 5 6 7 29 .211 .254 .350 .603 75
1989 HOU 134 443 64 114 21 2 13 60 21 49 64 .257 .336 .402 .738 114
1990 HOU 150 555 53 153 24 2 4 42 25 53 79 .276 .342 .348 .689 93
1991 HOU 149 546 79 161 23 4 4 46 19 53 71 .295 .358 .374 .731 113
1992 HOU 162 613 96 170 32 3 6 39 38 94 95 .277 .378 .369 .747 118
1993 HOU 155 610 98 175 41 5 21 64 15 77 93 .287 .373 .474 .847 131
1994 HOU 114 437 88 139 44 5 6 56 39 62 58 .318 .411 .483 .893 138
1995 HOU 141 553 123 167 30 2 22 77 33 80 85 .302 .406 .483 .889 142
1996 HOU 162 605 113 174 24 4 15 75 25 75 72 .288 .386 .415 .801 120
1997 HOU 162 619 146 191 37 8 22 81 47 84 107 .309 .415 .501 .916 143
1998 HOU 160 646 123 210 51 2 20 88 50 64 113 .325 .403 .503 .906 139
1999 HOU 160 639 123 188 56 0 16 73 28 88 107 .294 .386 .457 .843 114
2000 HOU 101 377 67 101 13 5 8 35 12 61 73 .268 .388 .393 .780 93
2001 HOU 155 617 118 180 35 3 20 70 7 66 100 .292 .382 .455 .838 111
2002 HOU 145 577 96 146 36 3 15 58 16 50 111 .253 .330 .404 .734 88
2003 HOU 153 628 102 166 44 2 15 62 8 57 116 .264 .350 .412 .763 96
2004 HOU 156 633 100 178 47 0 24 63 7 40 94 .281 .337 .469 .806 105
2005 HOU 155 590 94 156 40 1 26 69 11 37 90 .264 .325 .468 .792 104
2006 HOU 145 548 79 135 33 0 21 62 3 40 84 .246 .306 .422 .727 84
2007 HOU 141 517 68 130 31 3 10 50 4 23 112 .251 .285 .381 .666 71
20 Yrs 2850 10876 1844 3060 668 55 291 1175 414 1160 1753 .281 .363 .433 .796 112
162 Game Avg. 162 618 105 174 38 3 17 67 24 66 100 .281 .363 .433 .796 112
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/12/2012.

Why He Should Get In
A versatile player, Biggio was an All Star as a catcher and a second baseman. His offensive numbers are on par with what Hall Of Fame voters tend to recognize.  With over 3,000 hits and over 400 stolen bases as well as over 1100 runs batted in, he has solidified himself as worthy of a bronze plaque in the halls of Cooperstown.

Why He Should Not Get In
He may have held on a bit too long in an effort to get the numbers that he needed to in order to reach the hall.  While he may have held on too long, he was far from an embarassment to his career.  Biggio is as close to a first ballot hall of famer as you will find.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball
Follow him on Twitter here.

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