Seton Hall Alum Craig Biggio Enters Baseball Hall Of Fame

The National Baseball Hall of Fame welcomed one its newest members – Seton Hall University alum Craig Biggio – during an induction ceremony on Sunday.

Biggio spent his entire career in Houston playing for the Astros, a modern-day baseball rarity.

He compiled a .281 career batting average, 291 home runs, 1,175 RBIs and 414 stolen bases in 1,560 games, according to Sports Illustrated.

Biggio received the 2005 Hutch Award for perseverance through adversity and the 2007 Roberto Clemente Award for sportsmanship and community service.

He remains Seton Hall’s career leader in triples, ranks second in runs scored and resides in the program’s top-10 in 18 other single-season and career statistical categories, according to NJ.com.

The former catcher and second baseman was part of a 2015 inductee class that included Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson and John Smoltz.

During his acceptance speech, Biggio recalled his days at Seton Hall with fondness:

“I went to Seton Hall University, where I met my wife Patty and had three great years there. My college coach was Mike Sheppard. He was a tough man. He was a Marine. He was a disciplinarian, but he kept you in line. Most of all, he loved his players and he had their backs no matter what… Coach Shep’s motto was ‘Never lose your hustle,’ which is something I took to my pro career. I’m very grateful to have played for you, Shep. Thank you.

“Ed Blankmeyer was the assistant coach and he was a tremendous teacher of the game and a man who has dedicated his life to college athletics. He has done an incredible job at St. John’s as the head baseball coach. Thanks, Blanky. Keep up the good work.”

“Fred Hopke was the hitting coach. He was a career minor-leaguer for 10 seasons. He brought a pro-style approach to the program. He’s the first person who taught me how to work myself through at at-bat. Thanks, Hop.”

“Monsignor Sullivan was the baseball chaplain. He was my roommate on the road a few times. But most importantly he was a friend. He helped me with my conversion to Catholicism when I was going through a tough time in my life. I miss you very much.”

“We had a good run especially in my last year. We beat Frank Thomas’ team in a regional, then lost to Billy Spiers team, he’s out here somewhere. And then we lost to Frank’s team again. My memories in college are great.”