BAGWELL Writers for Getting Me in Here
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July 30, 2017 2017 NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME You know, I want to first thank the baseball INDUCTION OF JEFF BAGWELL writers for getting me in here. I truly, truly appreciate it. You guys have a tough job and do a JANE FORBES CLARK: I would like to great job of it. invite Commissioner Manfred to join me for our I thank the Hall of Fame and I thank Jane, second presentation. Jeff, Jon, Whitney, and the entire Hall of Fame (Video shown.) staff. Just an unbelievable job up here what you Jeff, please join us. It is my honor as guys do, every single thing you guys have covered chairman of the National Baseball Hall of Fame to made my family, my friends feel welcome. I can't welcome you to our Hall of Fame family. thank you enough for all of that. Commissioner, if you would read the We congratulate John, Bud, Rock and inscription on Jeff's plaque. Pudge. So many things you've done in baseball, ROB MANFRED: Jeffrey Robert Bagwell, whether it be executive side or playing. Getting to Houston, NL, 1991-2005, combined a powerful know you guys here, as great as you were in your batting stroke with a discerning eye to hit .297, fields, you're even better people, and I am truly score 1,517 runs, and drive in 1,529 over 15 honored to go into this class with you guys. This seasons, all in Houston. really has been special, and you thank you for that. A prolific run producer, posted nine As I said before, it's an honor to be with all seasons with 100 or more runs scored, leading the these Hall of Famers, to stand up here and try and NL three times. From a wide stance, topped the talk my story, which I'd much rather be sitting in 30-home run mark nine times, and finished with some of these rooms and listening to stories that 449 moon shots overall. Drew more than 100 they tell. But you know, this is all part of it, and I walks in seven consecutive years, a record streak love it, and I'm humbled and I'm grateful. in the National League. Just to share this, my family means so Durable, agile first baseman, played in 160 much to me, and to have my brothers, my cousins, or more games six times, stole 202 bases, most by my nieces, to be here with me is really, really a first baseman after 1920. special to me. A four-time All-Star, named 1991 NL My family is just -- I can't tell you how Rookie of the Year, and captured the NL MVP in much they mean to me as far as -- we have 1994 unanimously. baseball life, which I played for 15 years, obviously JANE FORBES CLARK: Ladies and put a lot more time to it than that, but there's so gentlemen, Jeff Bagwell. much more that goes on in life, and for my family JEFF BAGWELL: Thank you. Thank you and my children, with Lauren, Maxwell, Rachel, so much. Y'all from Houston, you know I don't like Blake and Bryce, I think the pleasures of being a all this attention. father, getting to see every single child be different, This is actually a really unbelievable day. always a challenge every day, and always fun. I'm so humbled to be here, to be surrounded by You make my life so happy to watch you grow as some of the greats that ever played this game. people. The guys you see on TV, guys you read about and To my mother, mom, you're just absolutely all that, and I'm standing up here and kind of sitting just the most amazing woman in the entire world. in the background just watching and just trying to You know, as a kid, when you get in trouble, you figure out what's really going on. always go to your mom, you never go to your dad. 07.30.17 - J. Bagwell 1 visit our archives at asapsports.com That's how you're going to get away with stuff, at that drive that my mom and my father gave me got least for a while. You've been a staple in my life, a me a long way. pillar for me through all my success and through As I said, I wasn't the most talented guy. I some of my failures, too. I can't tell you how much went to -- I came from Killingworth, Connecticut. I I love you and what you mean to me. went to all boys' Xavier High School, played for My father, Bob, you know, it's amazing, I Coach Garska and Richie Magner, had a nice would imagine a lot of guys up here talk about their career there. I wasn't on the varsity team when I fathers because there's something about a dad for was a freshman, ended up playing there, played in a son who plays baseball. You brought me to love American Legion. Never even thought about a this game of baseball, to go out and every single draft. That was funny to me. I was like, well, I day for us to try and get better. You used to say don't think we're at war, but the draft itself was not that you gave me your right arm throwing to me a possibility for me. batting practice all the time, and you did. But more But I kept getting a little bit better. I was importantly, you taught me how to be a man, fortunate I played in Legion baseball where a lot of showed me respect, how to have respect, to walk guys from the University of Hartford had gone, and through this life as a man. That's something that I got a scholarship offer from the University of I'm very proud of, and I try and use that with my Hartford and Head Coach Bill Dehney. Pretty kids, too. You are just a wonderful father, and I'm much my only place that I could go to school and so happy that you're here for this day for me. I play baseball, so I took that opportunity. I got to know it means a lot to you, and we're in this play -- I was a starting shortstop my freshman together, my friend. year, which gave me a lot of opportunity because if To my beautiful wife, words cannot explain I went to a big school I probably wouldn't have how much you have meant to me. Like I said, as played right off the get-go. wonderful as things are up here, there's good I hit for the cycle and added a home run times and bad times, and I know -- and everybody my first game, made two errors at short and played that knows me, that I would not be standing here third base the rest of my career, so that tells you without you and your love and your support. You how well I did at short. have taken me through so many different journeys, So I went to University of Hartford. I and to finally end up here, for both of us to sit here played for Dan Gooley for two years. Coach and just kind of look and go, is this really Gooley, just a memorable time playing with you. happening, because there were some times that We had such a great team. Two of my best friends we didn't even know. But you have been a rock for in life, Chris Peterson and Greg Centracchio I met me, and I can't tell you how much you appreciate there. And for over 20 years, we've been best everything that you do for me every single day. So friends ever since. Types of things that you can't thank you, my love. take away, and baseball brought that for us. That's You know, they talk about the Hall of Fame what we lived and died with baseball, and now we is just a dream come true. I mean, I can't honestly do it with our kids. I thank you both so much. say that. I mean, who's a young kid that dreams So I got to play in Cape Cod. I truly about being in the Hall of Fame? Maybe believe that that's where I became -- that I thought somebody does. For a kid that was a Red Sox fan I could play baseball a little bit past college. I my entire life, I dreamed of playing for the Red started playing there with a bunch of guys that Sox. You know, chances probably weren't pretty were on TV all the time: Robin Ventura, Joey Bell, good at that. I was never that great. But which became Albert Bell. I mean, these guys something my father instilled in me when I was a were just tremendous players that I saw, but I kid is to never quit. Don't quit at anything you ever realized that I could play, which really helped me. I try. went back to school there, and I got drafted in '89 You know, I've pretty much stuck to that. by the Boston Red Sox, which was a dream come There were certain situations that I wish I had quit true. I mean, what I said earlier, that was my a couple of jobs that I had, dishwasher at dream, and that's what happened.