Congratulations Craig Biggio

Last night, Craig Biggio got his 3000th hit. In somewhat typical Biggio fashion, he got thrown out at second hustling to try and stretch his single to a double. Later in the game, also in typical Biggio fashion, he beat out a slow grounder with two outs,

I was a Biggio fan long before I was an Astros fan, long before it ever occurred to me that Houston was a city I'd ever even visit. He captured my attention when I first became a baseball fan because he was a great defensive catcher who could also hit and run, which has always been an extremely rare thing. (I admit the bright orange uniforms the Astros wore at the time were also, for better or worse, attention grabbers.)

During his career, Biggio was moved from catcher to second to save his knees. Later, as necessity demanded, he transitioned from second to the outfield. I can think of only one other baseball player who underwent the exact same sequence of transitions: me. And I'm sure I complained more than Biggio did, because Biggio didn't complain at all. He just did it, because he was a team player, because it was his job.

Congratulations Bigg, on joining the most exclusive and important club in baseball. (Please, someone feel free to argue the 500 HR is more exclusive, I can't wait to prove you wrong. Which isn't to take anything away from Frank Thomas, who also deserves congratulations, but still: 3000 is where it's at.)

Song lyric of the day:
"Can we go, because I'm always searching for more
And it never makes it clearer than it was before
But I won't ever believe until I live inside"
- Army Navy, Dark as Days