Bagwell belongs...

This morning, Jeff Bagwell announced his retirement from the game of baseball. In five years, there is going to be a great debate that will go a li'l something like this:

"Well it looks like Bagwell is going to be up for Hall of Fame election."

"Who?"

Bagwell or as I like to call him, Buff, should be punching his ticket to Cooperstown. He won't. His 449 home runs and 1529 RBI will not be good enough. The fact that he was the best player on a perennial contender in the National League will not be good enough. Right now, 44% of SportsNation on ESPN.com says that Buff does not belong in the Hall of Fame...AND THAT IS ON THE DAY HE RETIRES!!! With five more years in the can, I am willing to bet that number will rise to 75%.

People say three thousand hits is the threshold. Richie Ashburn, as beloved as he is, only amassed 2574 hits in just as many seasons as Buff. Ashburn was supposedly the prototypical lead off hitter. He has a career OBP of .396. That is mere peanuts compared to Buff's .408. Ashburn got into the hall of fame because he was a beloved figure in a bigger market (Philadelphia). Bagwell is going to suffer because he went through an entire career in Houston.

I know what you're saying..."Revis that's crap. I know Ashburn was not exactly the type to punish you with his bat, but he was money in the field." Well to quote Lee Corso, "Not so fast, my friend." Ashburn had a career fielding percentage of .983. Bagwell had a career fielding percentage of .993.

The players that belong in the Hall of Fame are those who made you say "oh shit" whenever they came into the game or came up to bat. Bagwell was definitely that type of player. Being a member of the Astros should not work against him. Give 'em hell Buff. I'll be pulling for you.