BAGWELL PROFILE | BAGWELL IN THE NEWS | #HOFHawk

On Sunday, it became official. Jeff Bagwell is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
 
Arguably the most famous product of the University of Hartford, Jeff Bagwell set the standard for Hawks student-athletes. By the time he was drafted in 1989, Bagwell held the program's all-time records in batting average (.413), home runs (31), runs batted in (126) and slugging percentage (.733).

"This is an unbelievable day," Bagwell said during his induction speech. "I'm so humbled to be surrounded by all these great players, some of the best to have ever played the game. It's an honor to stand up here and tell my story, and I'm humbled and I'm grateful."
 
He made his presence known from the very first game he played with the Hawks. Suiting up at shortstop, Bagwell went 4-for-5, hitting for the cycle with four runs scored and four RBI. He followed that up with a 4-for-5 performance in his second game. But with four errors in three games at shortstop, the slick hitter was moved to third base, where he would remain until he joined the Houston Astros organization.

During his 15-year professional career with the Astros, Bagwell set the franchise records for home runs (449) and RBIs (1,529) and, in 1994, became the only Houston player to ever earn league MVP honors.

Bagwell reflected on his time with the Hawks during his induction speech.

"I played in Legion baseball where a lot of guys from the University of Hartford had gone, and I got a scholarship offer from the University of Hartford," Bagwell said. "I was the starting shortstop my freshman year, which gave me a lot of opportunity I wouldn't have had at some bigger schools. I hit for the cycle and had a home run in my first game, made two errors at short, and played third base the rest of my career, so that tells you how well I did at short.

"I played for Dan Gooley for two years, such a memorable time, we had such a great team," Bagwell continued. "Two of my best friends in life, Chris Petersen and Greg Centracchio, I met there, and for over 20 years we've been best friends ever since. We lived and died with baseball, and now we do it with our kids."

Selected in the fourth round of the 1989 draft by the Boston Red Sox, Bagwell played two years in Boston's minor league system before being traded to Houston, where he spent his entire Major League career (1991-2005). He was the 1991 National League Rookie of the Year, the 1994 National League MVP, and is still the only first baseman in history ever to hit 400 home runs and steal at least 200 bases, with 207. Bagwell finished his career as a four-time all-star, three-time Silver Slugger and one-time Gold Glove honoree.
 
Bagwell gained entry into the Hall along with Tim Raines and Ivan Rodriguez. He garnered 86.2 percent of the required 75 percent of the vote and was selected on his seventh appearance on the ballot. He received the highest total of the three players elected in this year's class.
 
The former Hawk was named on at least 60 percent of ballots in each of the previous five years and he received 71.6 percent in 2016.

Bagwell still holds Hartford's top spot in career batting average and slugging percentage. His No. 27 jersey was retired by the Hawks baseball program in 2004 and Houston retired his No. 5 jersey in 2007.
 
A Killingworth, Conn. native, Bagwell is just the second draft-era MLB Hall of Famer from a University in the Northeast. The other is his former Astros teammate Craig Biggio who attended Seton Hall. According to Baseball America, Bagwell is just the 13th MLB Hall of Famer since the draft era began in 1965 to have even played collegiately.

He is also the first Connecticut native to be voted into the MLB Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Five other Nutmeg State natives gained entry through various other committees – Waterbury's Roger Conner (Player; Veterans Committee, 1976), Bridgeport's Jim O'Rourke (Player; Old Timers, 1945), Montville's Ned Hanlon (Manager; Veterans Committee, 1996), New Haven's George Weiss (Pioneer; Veterans Committee, 1971) and East Haddam's Morgan Bulkeley (Pioneer; Centennial Committee, 1937).