Two years ago, former Houston Astros All-Star second baseman Craig Biggio took a job as a volunteer freshman baseball coach at St. Thomas High School (Houston, Texas) and following his season finale he was helping with the varsity.
Assistant coach Sean O’Neill picks up the story, telling MaxPreps, “A lot of people in small towns didn’t know Craig was with us. There were 50 or 60 people at a doubleheader in Crosby and there was a Wal-Mart across the street. When people saw Craig in the dugout, they got out their cell phones. We ended up with 300 or 400 people.”
Craig Biggio with sons Conor and Cavan.
Photo courtesy of Craig Biggio
That’s the way life is practically every day for the future Hall of Famer, who this past spring took over the head coaching reins at St. Thomas, which houses 730 boys in grades 9-12 and plays a very competitive schedule in the state’s private-school Class 5A. The 43-year-old Biggio, who spent 20 brilliant years with the Astros, is so popular that he probably could run for governor in Texas.
Biggio retired at age 42, even though he admits, “I probably would have kept playing, but there wasn’t a dollar figure out there (to keep him with the Astros). I was gone 10-11 years of his (oldest son Conor) life. I couldn’t put a price tag on that. I wanted to coach my son. It was an easy decision.”
So the personable Biggio bid adieu to the big leagues and four days later he volunteered to help coach the St. Thomas football team, because Conor was a freshman wide receiver in the fall. Then he volunteered to help with the freshman baseball team – where Conor was a second baseman - in the spring.
It should be no surprise that Biggio also wanted to be associated with football because he scored 26 touchdowns as a senior at Kings Park, N.Y., High School. The 5-foot-10, 175-pounder, who ran a swift 4.4 40, also won the prestigious Hansen Award as the top player in Suffolk County.
O’Neill, who was the head freshman baseball coach, admitted, “It was awkward because I grew up watching him play. It was a little weird because I was on third giving the signs and he was on first. It was a fun year and he and I get along real well. “
At the end of the season, head baseball coach Ken Schulte resigned and athletic director Mike Netzel had no problem naming Biggio head baseball coach.
Ditto with Biggio, who reasoned, “I was (going to be) there every day; why not do it? You can do it the way you want. It’s definitely challenging, but a lot of fun.”
Biggio admits to being nervous before his first game as head coach. After the first couple innings, he relaxed, but the Eagles suffered a 6-5 loss and “left a small army on base,” he quipped.
The Eagles finished with an 18-12 record during Biggio’s maiden voyage as head coach. Conor broke in at second base and started about two-thirds of the year.
Biggio really liked the re-entry rule, which allowed him a lot of flexibility. He tried to overlook missed calls by less experienced umpires, pointing out that they are “part of the baseball fraternity. Some of my best friends are umpires. They are right 99 percent of the time.” He undoubtedly was second guessed from time to time, but that was nothing new for a 20-year major leaguer.
“I’m patient to a degree,” Biggio says of his coaching style. “But mental letdowns and not running out the ball make the hair stand up on my head. The one thing you can control is effort. I struck out over 1,000 times. I don’t think you have to run back to the dugout after a strikeout. I liked the kids’ willingness to learn.”
Conor, now a 5-8, 140-pound junior, had mixed feelings about his dad’s retirement. He still relishes his “first game at the Astrodome, hanging out in the kids’ room. Enron Stadium opening was a big deal. Being inside a major league clubhouse is indescribable. Obviously, his 3,000th hit was pretty special. The coolest thing was the (2005) World Series.”
However, during those years, Conor conceded, “I never saw him that much. He would come to my games and point out things. When school was out he would pick me up, but he usually needed to leave right away for the ball park. He always tried to make time when he had a chance.
“I always wanted him to come home, but now I miss going to the ball park and hanging out,” Conor laughed. “You gain and lose a lot. It’s been working out fine. It’s nice to spend more time (together). He knows the game so well. The only thing I ask is that he treats me like everybody else.”
Biggio with sons Conor and Cavan at World Series.
Photo courtesy of Craig Biggio
“Last year we (he and Conor) learned a lot about each other,” the father-coach laughed. “It’s a process learning what kids go through at each age in life. It wasn’t great all the time, but it was great a lot of the time. The bottom line is that I treat all kids fairly, but I’m going to be harder on my own kids.”
This year, Conor’s younger brother, Cavan, has a shot at the varsity. He is a 6-foot, 150-pound freshman, who plays shortstop and third base and during the past summer actually roamed the outfield. If he makes the varsity he could form a slick double-play combination with Conor. He also is a wide receiver and cornerback in football.
Cavan pointed out, “I actually haven’t been coached by my dad yet, but he gives me a few pointers when he comes to my games. It was cool to go to the clubhouse, play on the field, go on road trips and bat-boy a lot of games. Lance Berkman was really nice to me.
“The World Series was a really good experience, going to Chicago. The first day we went to the ball park with dad. We saw how ball players focused and handled it.
“I like football more as a fun sport, but baseball I know more and am better at it. I expect him (his dad) to be hard on me.”
The father-coach says simply, “I want to help them fulfill their dreams – whatever they are. They are two different kids. The older one is very fast. The younger one is taller and has more power. They remind me of myself and Baggy (longtime teammate Jeff Bagwell).”
He concedes that his children (including nine-year-old daughter Quinn, whom he calls his best athlete) will forever live in his huge shadow. “I’ve already apologized for that extra baggage,” he quipped.
Biggio’s college coach, Mike Sheppard, is not surprised that his former star has gotten into coaching. After all, he was studying health and physical education in 1987 at Seton Hall University when he was drafted as a junior in the first round (No. 22 overall) and signed with the Astros for $100,000.
He still does not have his degree. However, he quipped, “I would like to (finish it) so my kids won’t hold it over my head.”
Sheppard, now retired, sent 28 players to the big leagues and he saw great coaching qualities in Biggio long ago. He told MaxPreps, “He always had good leadership. He was Mr. Enthusiasm. There was no give and no letup – he hustled all the way and tried to motivate (his teammates).
“I especially remember him having great empathy for players who didn’t play much. He had a lot of friends who didn’t play every day. We used to raise money by doing clinics. I turned the catchers (his position) over to him and knew he would do a good job.”
Sheppard pointed out that Biggio came to him as a high school infielder. But he needed a catcher badly and the youngster from New York quickly switched for the good of the team. He later made the reverse switch with Houston, going from an All-Star catcher to an All-Star second baseman.
“He used to call himself the retriever that became a receiver,” Sheppard laughed. “He could really run. He would run to back up first base (with all his catching equipment on) and a lot of times he beat the runner.
“He’s the real deal. He hasn’t changed one iota since I first met him. He’s a nice guy, but he can be a fierce competitor.”
Biggio returns the compliment to Sheppard. “Thank God I went to Seton Hall,” he said. “He was a very tough disciplinarian. He kept us all in line. I left there as a man. If I’d have signed out of high school, I’d have gotten eaten up.”
Not surprisingly, Biggio has been a lot more than a coach at St. Thomas. His celebrity, of course, has brought increased media and fan attention. Many items are sent to the school every week for him to sign.
“I hate looking at my mail at times,” Biggio confessed. “The Astros weed it out, but it’s hard at school. It never ends, but it’s a work in progress. My attitude is when they stop asking you, then you start to worry.”
His tireless fundraising efforts have been A-plus and have revitalized the school’s sports facilities. “We’ve upgraded so many things,” Biggio said proudly. He mentioned such things as batting cages, dugouts, wind screens, tarps, logos and especially refining the infield. Teams at every level also have newly-designed uniforms.
“I’m just trying to get kids a better opportunity,” he stressed. “We’re all in this thing together. I tell my baseball guys to play football. It’s a cycle where we all are working together. It’s going to be win-win.”
It didn’t stop at baseball, either. Netzel pointed out, “Craig really helped raise money for football. He had his resources and we got a lot of new equipment that was sorely needed. Next will be money for the weight room. He’s definitely helped the whole school.”
The first year, he received no salary but as head coach he does get paid. However, he quietly distributes the money to his assistants because he wants to have three coaches at each level.
His tireless work for others hardly stops at St. Thomas, however. Since 1990 he has been a frontrunner for the Sunshine Kids, an organization which helps boost the morale of children who have cancer. It started in Houston, but now has offices in New York and Los Angeles, too.
“When I was a young man,” he related, “a family on my newspaper route had a kid with leukemia. He died. I made a promise.”
Biggio stresses that money is not being raised for a cancer cure, but to bring as much joy as possible to the children in a variety of ways. He mentioned such things as trips for skiing, whitewater rafting, the New Orleans Mardi Gras. They also get to play on the Houston Astros’ home field.
“The most rewarding thing is to see kids get smiles on their faces,” Biggio said with satisfaction. “Athletes do so many (charitable) things. I’m proud to be a part of their fraternity. They give back so much and are so appreciative.”
Looking toward next spring, Biggio speaks like a man with great job security. “I don’t really care about the won-lost record,” he says. “The better the schedule (and it is loaded) the more (college and pro) looks for your players. If 42 scouts are watching Jameson (The Woodlands’ big-time pitcher, Jameson Taillon), they are seeing my kids, too).
“My biggest goal is to teach these kids as much baseball as I can and hope they can play in college and, of course, win a state baseball championship (the school has won 20 titles). If we can get six or seven kids (each year into college baseball), that’s all I care about. I would be very happy.”
He does have great job security, of course, because he still has a personal services contract with the Astros and he also made his debut as a television colorman recently during the Aflac All-American baseball game in San Diego, Calif.
He still attends Houston’s spring training and works four or five days in the Fall Instructional League. He also helps with the draft and attends as many home games as he can.
“They are my family and I want them to be successful,” he says with pride.
His wife of 19 years, Patty, urged him to make his debut as a TV colorman, pointing out it also would be good exposure for St. Thomas. He admits to being nervous, but he pulled it off well with the aid of play-by-play announcer Darren Sutton.
Down the road, Biggio appears to be a lock for the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. After all, he completed his brilliant 20-year career with 3,060 hits, 414 stolen bases and 291 home runs for a solid .281 batting average. He was a National League All-Star seven times while winning five Silver Slugger and four Gold Glove awards.
And he never will be forgotten for helping the Astros become the first Texas team (2005) to reach the World Series. “It didn’t go the way we wanted (a sweep by the Chicago White Sox),” he confessed. “Later, everywhere we went young people were so appreciative. Older people came up and put their hands on our shoulders. They said, ‘We want to thank you guys.’ It really put things in perspective.”
Asked about Cooperstown, the humble superstar deadpanned, “It’s a beautiful place. If that happens, it would be an unbelievable thing – also for my family and our fans. It would be a wonderful story.”
