On Baseball: How the Houston Astros Finally Hit on a Formula That Worked for Them

He and Craig Biggio, another Hall of Famer who spent his full career with Houston, finished just one season in last place. They were mostly good, but never good enough. Bagwell and Biggio reached the playoffs six times together but advanced to the World Series only in their final trip, in 2005, when they were swept by the Chicago White Sox.

Astros fans get a daily reminder of that loss in the team’s television analyst, Geoff Blum, who hit a 14th-inning homer at Minute Maid Park to win Game 3 for Chicago. Blum played only 33 career games for the White Sox and 580 for the Astros. Now, at last, his viewers might forgive him for his fling with an enemy.

“Please, finally!” Blum shouted in the clubhouse celebration on Wednesday night. “Although it’s going to be weird to see those two rings side by side.”

Photo

Craig Biggio, left, and Jeff Bagwell of the Houston Astros in 1992. They reached the playoffs six times together but advanced to the World Series only in their final trip, in 2005, when they were swept by the Chicago White Sox.

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