Connecticut's Jeff Bagwell Elected to MLB Hall of Fame

By Jack Kramer, Patch Correspondent

KILLINGWORTH, CT – Its official – Killingworth has its first Hall of Fame major league baseball player.
Jeffrey Robert Bagwell, who spent his entire 15-year career playing with the Houston Astros, was elected Wednesday into the Hall of Fame, surpassing the 75 percent of sportswriters votes needed – to gain Hall of Fame status.

Bagwell received 86.2 percent of the votes, topping everyone else on the ballot. The other two who made the Hall of Fame – topping the 75 percent total - were Tim Raines and Ivan “Pudge” Rodriquez.

Originally a Boston Red Sox fourth round selection from the University of Hartford in the 1989 amateur draft, the Sox traded him to the Astros in 1990.

Bagwell, a Xavier High School graduate from Killingworth who went on to become one of the greatest first basemen in major league baseball history, narrowly missed election to the Baseball Hall of Fame last year in his sixth year of eligibility last year.

Bagwell finished 15 votes shy of the 75 percent support he needed to join Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza in the class of 2016.

Bagwell played college ball at the University of Hartford from 1987-1989.

His credentials are worthy: National League Most Valuable Player in 1994, six top 10 MVP finishes, Rookie of the Year in 1990, a .297 career batting average, 449 home runs, 1,529 runs batted in, 2,314 hits, two 30-30 seasons (30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in the same year), three Silver Slugger awards and a Gold Glove award.

In 1994, Bagwell was on his way to one of the most incredible offensive seasons of the last 60 years when a players’ strike ended the season prematurely on Aug. 12. In just 110 games, he batted .368 with 147 hits, 104 runs scored, 39 home runs, 116 runs batted in and 300 total bases. Translated over a full 162-game schedule, those numbers would read 216 hits, 153 runs scored, 57 home runs, 170 RBI and 441 total bases.

Longtime teammate Craig Biggio, elected in 2015, is the only Hall of Famer with an Astros cap adorning his plaque in Cooperstown.

Photo credit: Tim Jensen, Patch Staff