ASTROS BOPPER SKY-HIGH IN RBI : OFT-INJURED JEFF BAGWELL IS HEALTHY AND ON PACE TO DRIVE IN 155 RUNS THIS SEASON.Byline: Eric Noland Daily News Staff Writer If he were so inclined, Jeff Bagwell The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The team is in the Central Division of the National League. would be justified in staking out some dizzying objectives for this baseball season. With a National League-leading 71 RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in through the Astros' first 74 games, he is on track to drive in 155 on the season, which would be the league's highest total since Hack Wilson Since Bagwell currently ranks fourth in batting average batting average n. Baseball A measure of a batter's performance obtained by dividing the total of base hits by the number of times at bat, not including walks. Noun 1. (.340) and fifth in home runs (21), a Triple Crown is not out of the realm of possibility. The NL hasn't had one of those since St. Louis' Joe Medwick Bagwell, however, prefers to operate within considerably less-ambitious parameters. In town for a weekend series with the Dodgers, he said, ``My only goal - trust me - is to be able to put my uniform on with two hands for 162 games. My only goal. I've taken my uniform off three years in a row with one hand, and I don't ever want to have to do it again.'' In an uncanny turn of fate, lightning has found Bagwell three times. And in roughly the same spot. In three successive seasons, he has broken his left hand after being struck by pitches. Each time it spoiled seasons brimming brim n. 1. The rim or uppermost edge of a hollow container or natural basin. 2. A projecting rim or edge: the brim of a hat. 3. A border or an edge. See Synonyms at border. with promise (although a players' strike also contributed heavily in '94). While sitting in the visitors' dugout at Dodger Stadium • • [ , Bagwell obligingly o·blig·ing adj. Ready to do favors for others; accommodating. o·blig  ing·ly adv. made a fist with his left hand, turned it over, and pointed to the three breaking points. All involved the fragile metacarpal metacarpal /meta·car·pal/ (met?ah-kahr´pal)1. pertaining to the metacarpus. 2. a bone of the metacarpus. met·a·car·pal adj. Of or relating to the metacarpus. bones that reach from the base of the hand to the first set of knuckles. One fracture here, on the fifth metacarpal (below the pinkie); two more, here and here, on the fourth (below the ring finger). Today, as a hedge against still another recurrence, he wears a high-tech protector over his hand - hard, shin-guard plastic backed up by a shock-absorbing gel - and was encouraged recently when teammate Craig Biggio His mind thus put at ease, Bagwell returned to what he does best: creating a great deal of mental distress Mental distress is a term used, both by some mental health practitioners and users of mental health services, to describe a range of symptoms and experiences of a person's internal life that are commonly held to be troubling, confusing or out of the ordinary. for pitchers. He's long since stopped trying to compute the odds of suffering the same injury three times in as many years. No, he didn't bother asking the doctors if he has congenitally brittle bones brit·tle bones n. See osteogenesis imperfecta. brittle bones 1 Osteogenesis imperfecta Bones with ↑ osseous fragility, a phenomenon seen in osteogenesis imperfecta, due to genetic defects–eg, point in his hands. Bagwell demonstrated that his instinct for moving away from inside pitches is to lean backward, rather than tuck his shoulder and spin away. As he pulls his fists to his chest, the left one assumes a line that is perpendicular to the flight of a pitched ball. Says Bagwell: ``I'll stick anybody up there - besides maybe Steve Austin Steve Austin can refer to:
In the view of those who have to pitch to him, the very hitting style that produces Bagwell's robust numbers is directly responsible for his proneness to injury. Ask a guy who is something of an authority on the subject. Since returning from Break No. 3 last year, Bagwell has been struck on the protector only once. That was on a fastball from Cincinnati's Xavier Hernandez Francis Xavier "The X-Man" Hernandez (born August 16, 1965 in Port Arthur, Texas), is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the major leagues; primarily in relief, from 1989-1998. He is currently the pitching coach for the Durham Bulls. last Sept. 5 - four days after Bagwell was activated from the disabled list. The incident touched off a nasty brawl. Hernandez now has a locker directly across from Bagwell's, having joined the Astros two months ago. The right-hander talked of the dilemma that Bagwell's talents present a pitcher. ``He has such great plate coverage,'' Hernandez said. ``He can hit . . . not hit, he can drive a pitch that's four inches off the plate away. ``His weak spot is an inside-corner fastball, but if you miss, you'd better miss inside, because if you miss out over the plate, chances are you're going to be asking the umpire for a new ball while he's rounding the bases.'' Hernandez continued: ``He doesn't let the up-and-in fastball faze him. You think you can get him off the plate. The next pitch, he's there again. He gives no ground.'' Those who work daily with Bagwell figure it's a tribute to his tenacity that his hitting style hasn't been altered by his misfortunes. An outfielder who has had an unpleasant encounter with a wall often chases deep line drives with a little less enthusiasm. A catcher who has been bowled over a few times might start taking the throws a step or two in front of the plate. But Bagwell still sets up tight on the inside corner with that wide, stink bug stance of his. He still flies out over the plate to get the soft stuff away. ``What he has,'' says Houston manager Terry Collins, ``is that mental toughness of a competitor that says, `I'm not going to give one inch to the opponent. This is me. This is what I'm going to do, and, by gosh, you're not going to change me.' '' Perhaps, but Bagwell admits that the bluster wasn't fully backed up by his heart at the start of this season. Queried on the issue of gun-shyness, he said, ``You know what? I had it for about two weeks in spring training this year. I had to fight through it. I had to sit down and tell myself, `Listen, stop being a wimp. Stay in there. You're going to be OK. The more you stay in, the better off you're going to be, because when you start pulling off, that's when you're going to get hit, that's when everything's exposed.' ``Nah, I don't back away, because that's the way I hit. I can't. If I change, I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. if I can ever get back to doing the things that I do - the way I hit now.'' The way Bagwell hits now has wreaked no small degree of havoc on the opposition. He was a unanimous league Most Valuable Player selection in '94, having collected 116 RBI and 39 home runs while batting .368 before Break No. 2 and the players' strike combined to wipe out the season. For his six-year career, Bagwell is a .309 hitter. And he currently ranks in the top five in 10 NL batting categories. As the offensive numbers pile up, Bagwell says he resists the temptation to ponder any soaring projections for this season. ``I'll tell you what,'' he said, ``I started counting one time. In '94, I had 39 home runs (by Aug. 6), and all I could think about was hitting the 40th. And of course I didn't.'' Indeed, a baseball crashed into his fist four days later. At the moment, that's the only history Jeff Bagwell wants to overcome in this game. ACHILLES' HAND Each of the past three seasons, Jeff Bagwell has had his season interrupted with a broken left hand, but he still posted some very impressive numbers. 1995: Became the first player in Astros history to lead the team in RBI five consecutive seasons despite missing the entire month of August with a broken hand. Finished with a .290 average, 21 home runs and 87 RBI. 1994: Was the unanimous choice as the league MVP (Multimedia Video Processor) A high-speed DSP chip from Texas Instruments, introduced in 1994. Officially introduced as the TMS320C80, it combines RISC technology with the functionality of four DSPs on one chip. after making a serious run at the triple crown. Although his season ended Aug. 10 (two days before the strike), he finished with a .368 batting average (behind Tony Gwynn's .394), 39 home runs (behind Matt Williams' 43) and a league-leading 117 RBI. 1993: Missed the final 20 games of the season with the first of his hand injuries, but finished with a .320 average, 20 home runs and 88 RBI. SOURCE: Phil J. Krugel PRODUCTION VALUES Production values is a media term for "production cost." It refers to the professional look, or "polish," of a production. Factors that affect perceived production value may include video and audio quality, lighting, number of errors, and amount and quality of special effects. The rank of the Houston Astros' Jeff Bagwell in various National League batting categories (entering Friday night's game with the Dodgers): FIRST RBI 71 Slugging pct .691 On-base pct .472 Doubles 26 Extra-base hits 49 Total bases 183 Walks 64 FOURTH Average .340 FIFTH Home runs 21 Hits 90 CAPTION(S): 2 Photos, 2 Boxes Photo: (1--color) Houston's Jeff Bagwell has alot to smile about with 71 RBI already and the season not half gone. (2--color) A special pad protects Jeff Bagwell's lead batting hand. Shaun Dyer / Special to the Daily News Box: (1) ACHILLES' HAND (see text (2) PRODUCTION VALUES (see text) |
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