Craig Biggio's New Record

Last night Craig Biggio, with a little help from Byung-Hyun Kim, broke Don Baylor's modern record for career HBP. As Biggio trotted to first base, he motioned to the dugout to save the ball for him. Cooperstown reported is asking for his elbow guard. Another achievement in what has been a great career.

Being a human target for 17 years is not what makes Biggio's career so great. At his current rate, Biggio only needs about 250 more games for 3,000 hits. That is very early 2007, like the first 10 games. He has over 1,000 RBI. His 1,600 runs scored is good for 28th all-time, 1 behind Joe Morgan. He's been an All-Star 7 times, won 4 Gold Gloves, and 5 Silver Sluggers.

To me, the great thing about Biggio has nothing to do with stats. He started his career at catcher. In 1992 he moved to second base and never went back. That's probably for the better, since there was much less tear on the knees. For a more than a decade Craig Biggio was the Astros' second baseman. Then in 2003 the Astros signed Jeff Kent. To me, at this point Biggio could have had a problem with the signing and I would have backed him. A decade as a team's second baseman should bring with it plenty of job security. Instead, Biggio quietly moved to centerfield to let Kent play second. When the Astros acquired Carlos Beltran down the stretch last year, Biggio once again moved.

In each of these cases, Biggio put his ego aside and did what had to be done to help the team. Kent was a better defensive second baseman, and Beltran a better center fielder. Biggio acknowledged this and just found another place to play. His loyalty is amazing as well. He's been on the Astros (1988) since before my sister was born (1989). I was 2 when he broke through. He's taken a paycut since 2003. In 2004 he made about 1/3 what he did the previous season. He and Bagwell have been part of the Killer B's for years while the third member has changed from David Bell to Lance Berkman to Carlos Beltran briefly then back to Berkman. I'm sure the fans of the Astros have found this consistency reassuring in leaner times. It's always nice to have a familiar face around when things get bumpy.

My only hesitation about this new HBP record is that it will be the focus of Biggio's illustrious career, and not a side note. When all is said and done, Biggio's accomplishments will far outshine his tendency to get plunked.