Campbell: Biggio gives future No. 7s a role model

Campbell: Biggio gives future No. 7s a role model
By STEVE CAMPBELL Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Aug. 18, 2008, 8:29AM

The hearts were in the right place, no doubt. Let’s be clear about that. The Astros wanted to honor Craig Biggio, to do him yet another good turn for two decades of loyal service.

The Astros retired Biggio’s jersey, and 42,619 came to Minute Maid Park on Sunday to revel. After the 3,000-hit celebration of last June, after the fond farewell on the last day of last season, the Astros have the hang of paying homage to Biggio.

The Astros know if they build monuments to Biggio, people will come.

The Astros also know Biggio will make the masses feel as if they truly share in all of his successes and failures. It’s a rare gift, and Biggio has it. Maybe it’s as simple as basic decency, of Biggio knowing he’s a lucky man to have worked so hard and had so many people appreciate his efforts.

“I think the coolest thing about being an Astros fan is that they love the Astros logo so much,” Biggio said. “But they surely love the person who wears it more.”

Astros owner Drayton McLane had the glow of a champion, and for good reason. He even had the foresight or good fortune to receive a few favors from the baseball gods. Roy Oswalt outdueled Randy Johnson in a 3-0 victory over Arizona, sending the Astros on their way out of town and the fans on their way home with smiles.

Alas, the Astros got one thing wrong. They’re not alone. Every team in every major sport gets it wrong.

The Astros shouldn’t have been retiring Biggio’s jersey, shouldn’t have been unveiling his No. 7 above the right-field scoreboard at Minute Maid Park. They should have bestowed a more meaningful, more lasting honor than that.

Instead of having a ceremony to celebrate the fact that no future Astro will wear No. 7, they should be keeping the number in circulation. Now. And forever. The Astros shouldn’t be turning their most esteemed numbers into museum pieces. They should be passing along the numbers — and legacies — of their signature players from generation to generation.

Is pressure good or bad?

Nobody insisted on Frank Sinatra retiring My Way or George Carlin putting his riff about the seven forbidden words out to pasture in mid-life. So why would a franchise sever the tangible day-to-day ties with the numbers of defining figures such as Jeff Bagwell (5), Jimmy Wynn (24), Jose Cruz (25) or Larry Dierker (49)? Why keep recirculating the numbers of Mitch Meluskey, Tim Redding or Julio Lugo?

“That’s a good thought,” Astros manager Cecil Cooper said, nodding. “Keep that number alive, and this is something to motivate the next kid coming along. Pose that to Drayton. See what he says.”

McLane called the proposal “interesting” but stopped a Lance Berkman blast short of embracing it.

“If I were the next guy, I would think that would be too much pressure,” McLane said. “Wasn’t it Bobby Murcer who replaced Mickey Mantle in center field? He was a great player. If he hadn’t replaced Mickey Mantle, he probably would have been even greater. That’s intimidating when you put someone in Mickey Mantle’s place or Craig Biggio’s place at second base or Jeff Bagwell’s place. That’s a lot of pressure.”

Fair point. Counterpoint: Pressure also causes diamonds. Baseball is a sport steeped in tradition, in passing along things from one generation to the next. Retired numbers in the rafters have a way of blending into the scenery.

It would be far more instructive to issue a player No. 7 and give him the following indoctrination: “This is the number of Craig Biggio. For two decades, he did everything this franchise asked of him. He gave more effort and got more out of his ability than anybody in his generation. Honor his memory.”

Instead, the memory is the only place we’ll see No. 7.

“It’s pretty eerie,’’ Biggio said. “You think about it, and there are only two No. 7s ever (retired): Mickey Mantle and Craig Biggio. I grew up on Long Island in New York. That’s how I started off. I love this game. Everything I have is because of the game and my passion for the game. I try to give back to the game as much as I can. To have your number retired, that’s pretty high cotton.”

Biggio is the ninth Astro to have his number retired. Berkman (17) and Oswalt (44) are on the fast track to adding to the congestion over the scoreboard.

“I guess what they’re saying,” Berkman said, `is there will never be another player good enough to wear those numbers.”

Building blocks

The Astros should be encouraging future No. 5s and 7s to build on the legacies of the players who preceded them. The heart may be in the right place, but the Astros — and every other team — are perpetuating a de-evolution in which only the numbers of the lesser lights survive.

Beware, Astros fans. The numbers of Ezequiel Astacio, Jason Jennings and Dan Miceli could live until the end of the cockroach or the earth, whichever comes first.




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