Houston slugger grew up a Boston backer When Jeff Bagwell was growing up, his father, Robert, would pack up the family and everyone would make the trip from Hartford to Boston where the Bagwells would take in a Red Sox game at Fenway Park. The trip was the highlight of the summer for young Jeff, then and now a diehard Red Sox fan. "My dad used to try and go there once a year, usually for a doubleheader," Bagwell recalled. "We'd go up and watch infield, and (batting practice). We lived two hours away so it wasn't easy to go a lot, but I used to watch them on TV every night." For the Boston-born Bagwell, trips to Fenway were memorable events to be cherished. "I remember one particular game," Bagwell recalled. "We went to watch the Royals there when they had Bo Jackson. We watched him play. I remember watching him take infield. I remember he was throwing balls from the base of the wall (in the outfield) to behind home plate. That was awesome, I'll never forget that." Bagwell's love of the Red Sox continued through his days as a hard-hitting third baseman for the University of Hartford, and when he was drafted by the Red Sox in the fourth round of the June 1989 draft, Bagwell didn't believe what had happened: He had been drafted by his favorite team. One day Bagwell could be playing for his beloved Red Sox at Fenway Park. Destiny, however, took a detour and the Bayou City replaced the Back Bay on Bagwell's career path. Bagwell reached the Majors with Houston in 1991, winning the Rookie of the Year Award in the process. A dozen outstanding years later, playing for the Red Sox remains nothing more than a childhood idea whose time never came. On June 13, however, Bagwell's lifelong dream of playing a game at Fenway Park will become a realization. The Astros will make their first trip to Fenway Park for a three-game series against the Red Sox. Technically it won't be Bagwell's first visit to Fenway as a player, since he played there in the 1999 All-Star Game. That was an exhibition and Bagwell didn't play his position. This one counts. "The All-Star Game was great but it was different because I DH'd," he said. "I never really got to play the field out there. I got on base, but the All-Star Game goes by quick. It was real quick. So it's going to be probably more enjoyable to spend some time on the field this time. This time it will be more like a game for me because obviously it is a regular-season game." And one Bagwell intends to savor. "It's going to be exciting," he said. "No. 1, I'm looking forward to seeing those new seats in left field. For me it's something I grew up watching. I've been a Red Sox fan my whole life and I'm still a Red Sox fan. To get back there, to be playing three games there, is going to be very exciting." The All-Star Game crowd gave Bagwell a warm welcome in '99. Red Sox fans can ride opponents as well as any, but Bagwell doesn't think they will be too harsh on him. They remember one of their own. "I think the fans have a vague recollection of me because of my career and the way it's turned out and the trade and all of that kind of stuff," he said. "They kind of root for me when I'm up there so that's kind of neat for me." Last time Bagwell got a chance to face Pedro Martinez, an event he'd just as soon skip this trip, thank you. "I would rather not face Pedro when we get there," Bagwell said, laughing. "He's great, and we're trying to win games. He's one of the best in the game that's ever played. I was there when he struck out five or six in the All-Star Game and I was the last guy he struck out. So no, I'd rather not see him this trip, that wouldn't bother me at all if we don't have to see Pedro this time, at least not on the mound." Other Red Sox legends would be a bonus. Bagwell idolizes Carl Yastrzemski and can rattle off the names of the Red Sox greats he saw play so many times during his childhood. "I met Carl Yastrzemski in '94, it was a great thrill for me," Bagwell said. "Johnny Pesky is still around and he was there when I came into the minor leagues with the team. It would be nice to see them again, hopefully I'll get a chance to see them." Bagwell has come a long way since Aug. 31, 1990, when his Double-A New Britain manager pulled him off the field during batting practice to inform him he had been traded to the Astros. In a Houston uniform, Bagwell has reached plenty of milestones, including his 300th homer in 2000 and his 2000th hit earlier this year. Through Sunday's game, Bagwell was eight homers away from joining the 400 club. If he maintains his career average through the length of his current contract, Bagwell has a shot to reach 3,000 hits. That's not as farfetched as it might seem to some. Signed through 2006 with a club option for 2007, Bagwell's hits per year average has increased since the club moved from the Astrodome to Minute Maid Park prior to the 2000 season. So if he stays healthy and finishes his career in Houston, Bagwell has a shot to reach 3,000 hits and 500 homers. No one, not even Bagwell envisioned this kind of career when he was a skinny infielder in the Red Sox system. Not even former Houston manager Art Howe, who asked Bagwell if he'd like to move from third to first base during Spring Training of 1991, a switch that has paid dividends for player and organization to this day. In any case Bagwell, a "sure-fire Hall of Famer" according to the late Ted Williams, has certainly come a long way since those treks to Fenway Park with his family. "If I stayed there and played there, who knows what would have happened. I might have been just another guy there (in Boston)," Bagwell said. "But it worked out well for me this way so it's nice. I certainly can't complain." Perhaps Thomas Wolfe was wrong. You can go home again, if only to visit. "I think it would be different if we played them every year, but we don't and this is our first time," said Bagwell, as he put a white T-shirt with Hartford Softball emblazoned on the front in his locker. "After all those times (going) as a fan, this will be my first time to go to Fenway Park as a player other than All-Star Game. So yeah, it's going to be special, very special."
Having read this and knowing Bagwell and his relationship with Boston....anybody else get the feeling ole Jimy will bench Baggy for one game? Manager's decision, of course......
That's too funny. Jimy will probably wait until Bags hits 3 homers in his hometown stadium, then bench him. I've noticed he likes to wait until a player has a break out game, then bench him the next game. That makes no freakin sense at all.
