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Planet Houston

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10 minutes ago, Jshep34 said:

Such a vastly undervalued player in Astros history. Just on and off field. Took biggio under his wing eventhough he knew craig was taking his job.

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Was it known Biggio was going to move to 2nd when he came up?

first 4 years-429 appearances at C, 3 at 2B.

Doran was traded in 90.  Biggios first game at 2b was 91...

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Getting Verlander from the Tigers is probably my favorite Astros event. Dude is awesome and seems like a pretty cool badass.

 

Next is Altuve. Then Bregs. Then Cole. I don’t know where Correa fits anymore. All that “best of all time” promo stuff from 2017 is funny

 

 

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19 minutes ago, Tylerocks said:

Was it known Biggio was going to move to 2nd when he came up?

first 4 years-429 appearances at C, 3 at 2B.

Doran was traded in 90.  Biggios first game at 2b was 91...

Doran did help him but it was after he had already been traded away.  This is from the Chronicle:

Spoiler
SPORTS // ASTROS

How Matt Galante turned Craig Biggio into a second baseman

How Matt Galante taught Craig Biggio to play second base in one grueling spring

By Jose de Jesus Ortiz July 23, 2015 Updated: July 24, 2015 10:10 a.m.
 
  •  

The Astros were out of the playoff race in 1991 when manager Art Howe and coach Matt Galante approached Craig Biggio about moving to second base.

Biggio grew up dreaming of being the next Walter Payton in football or Thurman Munson in baseball. Playing running back was no longer an option, but he assumed the first All-Star berth of his career validated his credentials as a catcher.

Biggio was furious about the request. Nonetheless, Biggio humored his bosses. He went to second base on Sept. 30, 1991, and played three games there against the Giants at old Candlestick Park in the penultimate series of the season.

 

"The first ball came to him and it went right through his legs, never touched his glove," Galante said. "I turned to Art and said, 'Art, he never got a glove on it. He may not want to do it.' (Craig) wasn't real happy. I said, 'We have plenty of time to work on it.'"

Fortunately for Biggio, he accepted the challenge. He caught the final two games of the 1991 season against the Braves. Then in the offseason began the transition that ultimately made him the first Astros player at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y.

"At the time it was a nervous decision," Biggio said. "But once we made our decision to do it, we zipped up the catcher's gear and never looked back."

Biggio is adamant that he would not have secured a place among baseball's immortals without Galante's guidance, tough love, patience and help.

 

The transition began in earnest in early 1992 before Biggio and Galante went to work on the back fields of Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee, Fla.

Billy Doran, who had been traded from the Astros to the Reds on Aug. 30, 1990, returned to Houston in February to help teach Biggio the position.

Biggio had grown to respect Doran during their three seasons together, so he called his former teammate on the phone to ask if he'd fly to Houston to help.

As the Astrodome prepared to host the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Biggio and Doran drew an infield on the dirt that had been installed for the rodeo.

 

That briefing prepared Biggio for the grueling spring.

 

"One of the first things he told me was, 'If we're going to do this we're going to do it right. I want to win a Gold Glove,'" Galante said. "And he won four of them. He never played the position before. It was almost like teaching a baby to walk because he didn't have any bad habits."

 

A healthy clash

The Long Island kid and his Brooklyn mentor don't pretend the transition was void of arguments, hurt feelings, choice words and apologetic hugs. Their Italian American tempers got the best of both of them at times, Biggio notes with a chuckle.

 

Biggio, a proud student of baseball history, researched and quickly realized the move was relatively unprecedented in baseball history. He and Galante were well aware that many folks in the baseball industry and media doubted them.

They drew closer with a mutual desire to prove the cynics wrong.

Biggio and his agent Barry Axelrod knew the gamble could backfire and sabotage his career. They sought some security from the club.

In making a case for a two-year extension, Axelrod asked the Astros to understand that Biggio was taking a huge career risk. He insisted that Biggio deserved some protection, and the club agreed to a two-year extension.

 

With that peace of mind, Biggio arrived at Osceola County Stadium committed to learn his new position.

Biggio caught long enough to know where every player needed to be when a ball was hit when he was behind the plate. He didn't have that same familiarity anywhere else on the diamond.

He needed to learn where to position himself at second in certain situations. Biggio recalls that the mental part of playing second was a bigger transition than the physical part.

Biggio had to learn where to go on cut-off or relays, how far to go out and see how far the trailing player on relay throws would be. He had to study spray charts to learn the specific hitting tendencies for opposing batters.

 

Biggio and Galante both laugh now when they remember some of their heated exchanges. Biggio said some things in frustration that he shouldn't have said. Galante shared some hard truths that didn't always sit well with Biggio.

"He and I," Galante said, "we didn't always agree on everything. But when we left that day we agreed on everything."

Galante also helped position Biggio at second base for certain hitters throughout the first half of the 1992 season.

First, however, Biggio needed to learn how to field grounders correctly.

 

Before Biggio was ready to use a real glove - much less take the infield in a Grapefruit League game - Galante introduced him to a foam paddle.

Soft-hand paddles are common training tools now, but they were relatively unknown when Galante showed his version to Biggio.

"It's a little paddle type of glove," Galante said. "It doesn't allow you to catch the ball with one hand. It's just a paddle. He looked at that thing and said, 'I'm not going to use that.'"

Biggio couldn't believe what he was seeing or hearing. He stared at the foam glove with doubt early that first morning. He couldn't believe that Galante wanted him to field ground balls and turn double plays with a flat piece of foam.

 

"I thought he was crazy," Biggio said. "I'm like, 'What the hell are we going to do?' I had a catcher's glove on for basically my whole life. Now all of a sudden I finally found an infielder's glove that felt good in my hands. Then, you're taking that away and giving me a paddle?"

Galante's foam paddle wasn't nearly as forgiving as the paddles that are mass-produced these days.

Biggio would arrive at dawn and usually leave at around dusk while spending about three extra hours each day on the back fields at Osceola County Stadium learning how to play second that spring.

The work took its toll on his hands, leaving them too swollen to even hit when the 1992 Grapefruit League started. Galante purposely asked Howe not to use him at second base during the first few games that spring because he needed more work at the position.

"My hands swelled up so much from catching and turning double plays with that paddle that I think I missed the first game of spring training that I had a chance to play in because my hand was too swollen to play," Biggio said. "That paddle taught you how to field groundballs correctly and turn double plays correctly.

"It got me out of any bad habits if I was ever going to get any from the get-go. It was pretty brilliant from his part."

Galante, 71, isn't quite sure where he placed the paddle Biggio used in his transition. He had two or three different ones at the time, he recalls. He also bought some new ones over time.

Several Astros used that paddle to work on fielding drills over the years. Galante has even had Biggio's sons - Conor and Cavan - use a version of the paddle to work on their fielding.

Galante assumed recently that the paddle was in the back of his car, but he couldn't find it while looking for it in the trunk of his silver, 2015 Lexus 300H.

A lasting influence

Galante spent most of his coaching career in the Astros' organization. Before working with Biggio in 1992, he helped Jeff Bagwell transition successfully from third base to first in the spring of 1991.

He was on the Astros' big league coaching staff from 1985 through 2001 with the exception of the 1997 season he managed Class AAA New Orleans. He also served as the Astros' interim manager for 27 games in 1999 as Larry Dierker recovered from a seizure. He was on the Mets' coaching staff from 2002 through 2004 before returning to the Astros' front office from 2005 through 2012.

Galante now serves as a volunteer baseball coach at Mater Dei High School in Middletown, N.J. , where he still uses the foam paddle to work with the infielders.

The Biggios visit Galante each Christmas in New Jersey. Galante and Mary, his wife of 44 years, have long embraced Biggio as part of their family.

Biggio has long described Galante as a father figure. Galante was one of the first folks Biggio texted with the news that he had been elected to the Hall of Fame on Jan. 6 although he was sworn to secrecy by the Hall.

Biggio, after all, had been given permission to share the news with family members who could keep it secret. Biggio doesn't want to divulge much about his induction speech, but he readily admits that Galante will be featured in it Sunday in Cooperstown.

"If I didn't have a coach in Matt Galante, we wouldn't be going where we're going (Sunday for the induction) just from the standpoint of the countless hours this man put in to make me a big league second baseman," Biggio said. "You got to understand he had six weeks to turn me into a big league second baseman, and in the history in the game it's never been done before. All the critics around said it would never be done, and we proved them wrong."

 

Edited by WBT
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