Holy Shit

Set off the fireworks, plan the parade, cue the Polyphonic Spree, because Pulp's boyhood idol just punched his surefire ticket to the Hall of Fame. Craig Biggio, in almost complete anonymity has climbed the mountain of 3,000 hits and finally quieted the sneering jackals who would attempt to keep him out of baseball's hallowed ground.

I still find it somewhat odd that a player on the Houston Astros of all teams would have been my favorite when I was a kid. Then again, growing up a Met fan in the early 90s, who was I supposed to turn to, Wally Whitehurst? I mean, we all like alliteration, but one must draw the line somewhere. Jeff Innis? I only liked him because he was abducted by aliens. So when my 9 or 10 year old self was flipping through baseball cards and saw the guy who was a catcher then second baseman and he could hit, I recognized him as a guy to follow.

But what really did it for me was Biggio's actions at a game I was at. My family used to go to a few games in the box seats near the third base dugout, in the era when it didn't cost a month's salary to do so. The Mets were playing the Astros, and they were probably losing, as this must have been 1994 or 95. As the Astros came running in off the field, I started yelling towards Craig Biggio. "CRAIIIG! CRAIIIIIG!" I didn't really have much of a plan after that. But Biggio took note of me and rolled the ball used in the last out across the dugout to me.

Now, that was amazing enough. But about a year later, I went to another Mets/Astros game with my dad. That day, I left school real early so that I could try to get Biggio's autograph. Of course I brought my ball. And when we got to Shea, there was Biggio, down by the third base dugout signing autographs. I got in and gave the ball to him.

"You gave this to me last year."
"Did I really?"

He laughed and signed the ball, and I was about as happy as an 11 year old could be. My hero had just signed the baseball that he gave me. I still own that ball and will continue to treasure it. Even if Biggio hadn't gotten his 3,000th hit, even if he hadn't finally got himself into a World Series and even if he hadn't put together a surefire Hall of Fame career, it will always be my most treasured baseball collectible.

Congratulations Craig.