Bagwell among Hall of Fame Candidates

Former Astros All-Star first baseman Jeff Bagwell is among several candidates eligible for elec­tion into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Inductees for the 2012 class will be announced on Monday, January 9 on MLB Network, which begins its live Hall of Fame telecast at 1 p.m. Central Time. The Baseball Writers Association of America will also officially an­nounce the inductees on their web site on Monday as well. The induction ceremonies are scheduled for July 22, 2012, at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, NY.

2012 marks the second year that Bagwell has been on the ballot. Last year, he received 41.7% of the vote in what was his first year of eligibility. Candidates need 75% of the vote for induction.

In his 15 Major League seasons (1991-2005), all in an Astros uniform, Bagwell compiled a .297 batting average with 449 home runs and 1,529 RBI while posting a .408 on-base percentage and a .540 slugging percentage. He is the Houston franchise leader in career home runs, RBI, batting average and walks and ranks second in club history in games, runs, hits, doubles, total bases, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

During Bagwell’s 15 seasons, the Astros had their most successful run in franchise history, qualifying for the postseason six times while finishing at .500 or above 13 times. The Astros had the third-best winning percent­age (.531) in the NL from 1991-2005.

In 1994, Bagwell became just the third player in history to win the NL Most Valuable Player Award by a unani­mous vote after hitting .368 with 39 home runs, 116 RBI, a .750 slugging percentage, .451 on-base percentage and a career-high 1.201 OPS. Bagwell was a four-time All-Star, earned three Silver Slugger Awards, a Rawlings Gold Glove Award and remains as the only first baseman in NL history to reach the 30-30 club in home runs and stolen bases in a season, which he did twice in his career. Also, notably, Bagwell played nine of his 15 sea­sons in the pitcher-friendly Astrodome. His No. 5 jersey was officially retired by the Astros on August 26, 2007.

In December of 2006, the Astros named Bagwell as a Special Assistant to the General Manager. He had a suc­cessful stint as the club’s Major League hitting coach in the second half of 2010, but decided to resume his duties as special assistant after the season ended.