Profiles In Sports

Going from unknown Red Sox prospect to a well-known face of the Houston Astros franchise, Jeff Bagwell belted 449 home runs over 15 big league seasons and was the unanimous choice for the 1994 National League Most Valuable Player. His selection as a Hall of Famer, however, was not as resounding. In fact, it took seven tries on the writer’s ballot before the first baseman was Cooperstown-bound. Like Ivan Rodriguez, Bagwell’s candidacy was met with whispers of steroids – albeit no concrete evidence. But his inclusion in the Hall, according to former Astros play-by-play announcer Bill Brown, was a long time coming. Photo courtesy of Baseball Hot Corner Audio courtesy of MLB.com