JEFF BAGWELL
Hartford Hawks 1987-89
Houston Astros 1991-2005
Baseball Hall of Fame Inductee 2017
BAGWELL IN THE NEWS
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).
During his 15-year professional career with the Houston 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 placed his name among the game's all-time greats and that placement became permanent with his selection as a member of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2017.
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.
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.
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).
