(AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
CHATHAM – One of the newest members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame has strong ties to Cape Cod.
Jeff Bagwell, who hit nearly 450 home runs during his career with the Houston Astros, played his summer collegiate ball for the Chatham A’s of the Cape Cod Baseball League in the late 1980’s.
Bagwell starred for the A’s in 1987 and 1988, batting .315 for Chatham in ’88 and starting in the Cape League All-Star Game. Bagwell went 4-for-4 in the 1988 All-Star Game with a home run.
“[Bagwell] was a terrific player that had a presence about him wherever he went,” said Bobby Whelan, who coached Bagwell on the Cape.
“I realized two things about him right away: First, he did not want to be good, he wanted to be great, in every aspect of the game. Second, he made the commitment to becoming a Major League player ever day,” Whelan added.
Bagwell becomes 4th Cape Leaguer to be enshrined in Cooperstown, joining Craig Biggio, Frank Thomas, and Pie Traynor.
“On behalf of the entire Cape Cod Baseball League community, we extend our congratulations to Jeff Bagwell and his family. We not only celebrate a career worth of enshrinement in Cooperstown, we are grateful for having the chance to see what a Hall-of-Famer-in-the-making looks like up close,” said Paul Galop, the Commissioner of the Cape Cod Baseball League.
A Boston native, Bagwell was drafted by the Red Sox in 1989. He was traded to Houston in 1990.
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