Last year he said he was considering going to be an assistant at Rice. I look for him to go back there. Though it is certainly possible to do both, since the Astros gig has no real responsibility, and we've seen Biggio have his while still coaching St. Thomas.
I'm probably splitting hairs with you, but do you remember Bagwell's defense before his shoulder fell off? Every bit the defensive standout that Biggio was at 2B--and arguably better. He had a cannon arm; Bidge had a noodle arm. On the basebaths, what Bagwell lacked in speed he made up for in aptitude--dude just knew when to run and when to take the extra base. The fastest not-so-fast guy I've ever seen. Watching Jeff Bagwell play baseball in his prime was one of life's great pleasures. Almost (almost) like watching Dream play hoops.
I think berkman was a better hitter than bagwell. Against elite pitchers Bagwell seemed to struggle. I think that is why Berkman was better in the playoffs/
They ended it up with remarkably similar offensive production. If not for his own injuries, he may have ended up in the HOF.
Same, my first playoff game I've ever been to in any sport. I got my tickets from a lady off ebay for way below face value in the freaking Crawford boxes!! Got there couples hours early for batting practice too, it was a long day but unforgettable and totally worth it.
Bagwell, Biggio, Cedeno, Berkman, Wynn, Cruz Lots of fun stats here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/HOU/leaders_bat.shtml
I just have to note that Carter's 212 strike outs is followed by a close second of 145 of Lee May... wow.
Berkman should be a Hall of Famer. Probably won't get there, though. He's possibly my favorite player of all time.
I think he will get some looks later in his 15 years, but agreed. Number retired? Yes in my opinion, but no HOF.
No question on the Astros retiring his number, IMO. He should get votes. If Don Mattingly can get 15 years on the ballot, Berkman deserves to stay above 5%. Of course, Jimmy Wynn couldn't garner one lousy vote from the BBWAA, so I don't trust anything they do.
Not to mention putting the Big Fat in on first ballot while snubbing the superior player three years running, and snubbing a 3,000 hit player for no good damn reason. F'n ridiculous. No credibility left. And while I love Berkman, he's no HoF.
I strongly disagree with the Hall of Famer statement, but he is probably my favorite player. I wish he had given up batting right-handed at some point in his career. He wasted so many at bats from the right side. I hope he joins the Astros organization at some point. He would be a great commentator, given his consistently awesome interviews.
Lance Berkman has a good chance at the Hall of Fame with so many advanced statistical voters being added to the voting rolls as time goes by. His .950 OPS will be a huge selling point... cumulative stats don't seem to matter as much. Also no steroid rumors... Having said that, hearing some of the stats heads telling me that Berkman > Bagwell makes me believe that they never bothered to watch the damn game.
The advanced stats (OPS) are the reason I feel he should make it. I'm biased, but he's one of the most throwback players in a long time. Personality-wise, etc. Loved the guy.
As much as I'd love to agree, I think the recent HOF votes begs to differ. Hitters are going to be weighed on counting stats. Non- pure hitters like Biggio are having trouble getting in and he even has said counting numbers. It used to be you could take a guy based on a strong 7-10 year stretch. It's just not that way anymore. Even considering Berkman based on peak period performance, he's a borderline/just miss candidate. One of my buddy's nicknames for Berkman that always stuck for some reason was Tight Pants Lance. I loved watching that guy play ball.
Cumulative stats still matter, and he doesn't have them. If he could have gotten to 400 HR & 2K hits, he'd be a lot better off combining that with a great career OPS. I don't think any hitter from the last 50 years has made the HOF with fewer than 2K hits, and not been a pitcher. Edit: And to be fair, Berkman was a better player than a number of HOFers, but that is because those guys didn't belong either.
In addition to the '05 grand slam (incredible game to be at), you can't forget his HR that should have won the pennant: (Not very high quality) http://www.astrosdaily.com/video/2005nlcsgm5.mpg
