Cooperstown Choices: Craig Biggio

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.

Categorized | Cooperstown Choices 2013, I-70 Baseball Exclusives