Jeff Bagwell

In 1987 and 1988, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Chatham A's of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and in 1988 was named the starting third baseman for the East Division in the league's annual all-star game.

Bagwell graduated from Xavier High School, a private all-male Catholic school located in Middletown, Connecticut. A versatile athlete, he excelled at soccer, setting the school goal-scoring mark, played shortstop, and lettered in basketball. In early 1989, Bagwell was honored by Xavier for his character and generosity. He also excelled in American Legion Baseball under coach Fred Tremalgia for Post 75 in Middletown and went on to be named the 2003 American Legion Baseball Graduate of the Year.

The Red Sox selected Jeff Bagwell in the fourth round of the 1989 Major League Baseball draft. Throughout his career, Barry Axelrod served as his agent. For his first professional assignment, the Red Sox appointed Bagwell to the Winter Haven Red Sox of the Florida State League in 1989, where he batted .310 with two home runs. In 1990, while playing for the AA New Britain Red Sox, Bagwell won the Eastern League Most Valuable Player Award. In 136 games with New Britain, he batted .333 with 160 hits, four home runs (HR), 61 runs batted in (RBI), 34 doubles, seven triples, 73 bases on balls (BB), 57 strikeouts (SO), .422 on-base percentage (OBP), .457 slugging percentage (SLG) and .880 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS). He finished first in the league in hits and doubles, second in batting, OBP and OPS, fourth in BB, fifth in SLG, ninth in runs scored and tenth in RBI.

Late in the 1990 season, the Red Sox, who were in search of relief pitching to improve their chances of making the playoffs, contacted the Houston Astros about Larry Andersen. Stan Benjamin, who scouted the New England region for the Astros, recommended that they ask for Bagwell in return. The Astros initially hesitated owing to his sparse home run production, but Benjamin persuaded them, quipping that New Britain's Beehive Field was so large that "Babe Ruth couldn’t hit home runs in that ballpark." On August 30, 1990, the Red Sox took the Astros' offer. The trade is now considered one of the most one-sided trades in baseball history; in 2001, ESPN's readers named it the second-worst trade in sports history, behind only the Red Sox trading Ruth to the New York Yankees. Although Andersen pitched well down the stretch in 1990—he allowed three runs in 22 innings—to help the Red Sox secure the American League East division title on the final day of the season, the Oakland Athletics swept them out of the American League Championship Series (ALCS). They then lost Andersen after the season when he was declared a "new-look" free agent due to the third collusion settlement.

The most productive season in Bagwell's professional career was the strike-shortened 1994 season which set several franchise records. On Opening Day, April 4, against the Montreal Expos, Bagwell hit the game-tying home run while going 3-for-6 as the Astros won in a 12-inning walk-off. For the month of April, he batted .360 with six home runs and added another six home runs in May. In June, he hit 13 home runs, establishing an Astros' franchise record for one month, while batting .394, 11 doubles, .455 OBP, .899 SLG, and 1.354 OPS. On June 24, he hit three home runs against the Los Angeles Dodgers at the Astrodome – two in the same inning – in a 16–4 rout, becoming the first Astro since Glenn Davis in 1990 to do so. He was the NL Player of the Week for consecutive weeks on June 19 and June 26 and the NL Player of the Month for June, his second career monthly award.

Although firmly established as the Astros' first baseman from Opening Day in 1991, Bagwell remarked years later that transitioning from third base was not automatic. First basemen approach fielding plays from their right side, which is opposite to playing third base. He recounted one conversation that occurred during an Astros pitching change in a game against St. Louis. Shortstop Ozzie Smith was on first and asked Bagwell, "How's it going?" Bagwell responded, "I'm really struggling with my backhand." Smith replied, "Well, here's what you do. You can't field the ball deep. You have to get out in front of it." Remarked Bagwell, "I was basically being given a lesson from Ozzie Smith at first base during a pitching change. It's pretty cool."

After his playing career, Jeff Bagwell has spent much of his time with his family while sporadically taking coaching and special assignment positions for the Astros. He is married to Rachel Bagwell, his third wife, with whom he has five children in a blended family. Rachel had three children prior to meeting Jeff. Before his marriage to Rachel, Jeff had two daughters, Blake and Bryce. Jeff was formerly married first to model Shaune Bagwell (née Stauffer) in 1992, and then to Ericka Bagwell, with whom he had his two daughters. Rachel is the widow of Greater Houston-area hand surgeon Dr. Michael Brown, the owner and founder of Brown Hand Center. The Browns had two children from their marriage. Legal issues plagued Dr. Brown, including his being acquitted of felony assault in 2011 in connection with a 2010 domestic quarrel at their home.

The next year, Bagwell hit .273, driving in 96 runs with 18 home runs. In 1993, the Astros improved to a third-place finish in the National League West division, and in mid-September, Bagwell was batting .320 with 20 HR and 88 RBI. However, a pitch from the Philadelphia Phillies' Ben Rivera broke the fourth metacarpal bone in Bagwell's left hand, ending his season prematurely. It was the first of three successive seasons that ended early or was interrupted due to an incoming pitch breaking the same bone in that hand. His tendency to dip just before starting to swing made his hand more vulnerable to being hit by inside pitches. His .320 average was sixth in the NL. In February 1994, Bagwell and the Astros agreed to a one-year contact with a $2.4 million base salary (USD, $4.2 million today).

Bagwell played in 110 games in the 1994 season, batting .368 with a .750 SLG, 1.201 OPS, 39 HR, 116 RBI, 104 runs scored, 300 total bases and 213 adjusted OPS (OPS+) in 400 at bats. He led the major leagues in SLG, OPS+, RBI, and total bases, and the NL in runs scored and OPS, but fell short of winning the batting Triple Crown, finishing second for the batting title to Tony Gwynn, who, after batting .394, had the highest average in the major leagues since Ted Williams in 1941. Bagwell finished second in HR to Matt Williams, who hit 43.

The unanimous winner of the NL Most Valuable Player Award, he became the fourth player in National League history to win by this distinction, and the first Astros player to win the award. Bagwell also won his first Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, and Player of the Year Awards from The Sporting News, Associated Press, Baseball Digest, and USA Today Baseball Weekly. "Crazy stuff happened that year", Bagwell recalled of his 1994 season. "Every pitch that I was looking for, I got. And when I got it, I didn't miss it." The Astros and Bagwell agreed to a four-year contract on November 23, 1994, worth $27.5 million (USD, $47.4 million today) with the three option years. The average annual value of $6.875 million ($11.9 million today) made him the fifth-highest paid player in the majors.

In addition to stealing over 200 bases in his career, Bagwell contributed significantly around the field as a whole. During one series against Pittsburgh in 1994, the Pirates shifted while he batted, and Bagwell responded with seven opposite-field hits. A standout defender at first base, he won the 1994 Gold Glove award and developed a reputation as such with through the eye-test and advanced metrics. Remarked The Sporting News, "he's an extraordinary fielder who excels at charging bunts and throwing runners out at second and third. Although he has average speed, he's one of the game's smartest baserunners. ..." According to Baseball-Reference, he contributed 54 runs higher than the average first baseman over the course of his career. On the basepaths, he was a plus base-runner, with 31 runs above average per Baseball-Reference, a 72.1% stolen-base success rate, and he took the extra base almost half the time. From 1999 to 2000, his 295 runs scored led the major leagues and set a National League two-season record.

The 1995 season was shortened by 18 games due to the players' strike that commenced the year before. Bagwell endured a slump through the month of May in which he batted .183. In June, his results started to improve as he batted .339 and followed up in July by driving in 31 runs. Both Bagwell and Derek Bell − included as a "Killer B" − registered 31 RBI that month, breaking the monthly club RBI record. Bagwell had tied the previous record one year earlier to the month. He hit his first two career home runs against Maddux of the Atlanta Braves within a week – on May 28 and June 3 – who ceded eight over the entire season. On July 28 against the Colorado Rockies, Bagwell's 10th-inning home run tied the score and two innings later he scored the winning run for a 5–4 final score.

The 1,000th hit of Bagwell's career was a home run on May 20, 1997, off Calvin Maduro, one of his two that game, in a 9–5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. He was selected to the play in the All-Star Game. Exhibiting above-average speed and baserunning skills for a first baseman, Bagwell became the first full-time first baseman to join the 30–30 club, capping the 1997 season with 31 steals in 41 attempts. The only other first baseman to accomplish the 30–30 club is Joe Carter. Bagwell batted .286 and scored 109 runs. He finished second in the league with both 43 home runs and 135 RBI − the RBI total was a career high − and was third in the MVP balloting. He made the playoffs for the first time in 1997 when the Astros won the National League Central division, the club's first appearance in 11 years. The Astros faced the Atlanta Braves in the National League Division Series (NLDS), who swept them in three games. Bagwell, Biggio and Bell combined for two hits in 37 at bats.

In 1998, Bagwell informed a Houston Chronicle reporter that he was using androstenedione (commonly referred to as "andro"), which at the time the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classified it as a nutritional dietary supplement, finding it benign and authorized for non-medicinal purposes. It was considered a "weak" androgen steroid hormone and allegedly in widespread use around the sport at the time. Bagwell hit his first career grand slam while tying a career-high six RBI against Cincinnati on September 8 in a 13–7 victory. It was his 218th career home run, making his streak the then-longest among active players without a grand slam.

The high school which ruminated Bagwell, Xavier, officially retired his uniform number 9 in a commemoration on January 30, 1999. As the "Killer B's" brand gained increased national attention, journalist Dayn Perry jocosely noted that in 1999 the Astros, "in pursuit of arcane history, used eight players whose last names began with 'B'", including Bagwell, Paul Bako, Glen Barker, Bell, Sean Bergman, Lance Berkman, Biggio, and Tim Bogar. On April 21, Bagwell hit three home runs in a 10–3 win against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, his second career three-home run game. The second home run allowed him to overtake Wynn as the Astros' all-time home run leader at 224 and he tied a career-high with six RBI in one game. Bagwell produced another three-home run game on June 9 against the Chicago White Sox that was a grand slam short of the "home run cycle", accounted with a solo home run, a three-run home run, and a two-run home run, respectively. The two three-home run games made him the only player to accomplish this feat at two different stadiums in Chicago in the same season.

Nominated to his fourth career All-Star Game, Bagwell to that point in the season had scored or driven in 28.6% of the Astros' runs, the highest portion of a team's offense for which any one player in MLB accounted. He was stationed first in the NL in walks (83), runs scored (81) and OBP (.464), second in HR (28), RBI (78) and SLG (.648) and had 17 base thefts while Houston tenanted percentage points behind Cincinnati for first in the division. On August 20, 1999, he walked a major-league record six times in a 16-inning battle against the Florida Marlins.

Bagwell's aggregate output in 1999 included leading the major leagues in runs scored (143), bases on balls (149), and games played (162). He also batted .304, hit 42 HR, 126 RBI, and .591 SLG and stole 30 bases, giving him his second 30–30 season. Further, he paired with Barry Bonds as the only major leaguers to obtain the 40–30 mark (40 home runs and 30 stolen bases) twice. The Astros engulfed the Reds to clinch the NL Central division title in 1999, their third consecutive. They faced Atlanta in an NLDS rematch of two years prior but were defeated in four games. The NL MVP balloting materialized with Bagwell scaled second to the Braves' Chipper Jones. Bagwell was honored with the third Silver Slugger Award of his career.

With a triple on May 7, 2001, against Chicago, Bagwell achieved the 700th extra base hit of hit career. For the second time in his career, he reached seven RBI in a game – again tying a club record – at Kansas City on July 7. Over four successive games from July 8–13, Bagwell homered and totaled five home runs in that span. In a contest at Enron Field against the St. Louis Cardinals on July 18, he hit for the cycle. He went 4-for-5 with a BB and five RBI as the Astros won, 17–11. He was the NL Player of the Month that July after batting .333 with nine HR, and breaking his own club record with 36 RBI in a month, exceeding the 34 RBI in the previous August.

While hitting his 32nd HR on August 19, 2001, against Pittsburgh, Bagwell collected his 100th RBI. It was the sixth consecutive season he reached at least 30 HR and 100 RBI, making him the eighth player in MLB history to achieve such a streak, and the only Houston player to do so. Five days later, also against Pittsburgh, he scored his 100th run, joining Jimmie Foxx, Lou Gehrig, and Babe Ruth as the only players in MLB history with six consecutive seasons of 30 homers, 100 RBI and 100 runs scored. On September 30 at Chicago, Bagwell walked for his 100th of the season, thus making him the only player in MLB history to register six consecutive seasons of at least 30 HR, 100 RBI, 100 runs scored, and 100 walks. The Astros won the NL Central division title and faced the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS. In spite of Bagwell reaching base in eight of 12 plate appearances by single or by walk, he did not score any runs, and the Braves swept the Astros in three games.

Playing with sound health until 2001, an explosive pain started to progress in his left shoulder during the season. Bagwell underwent surgery to remove bone spurs and to reconstruct a partially torn labrum on October 26, 2001. He had also began to develop arthritis in his right shoulder, which gradually worsened and diminished his playing ability.

Darryl Kile, a former teammate with the Astros, died of a heart attack on June 22, 2002, while an active player for the Cardinals, before a game against the Cubs. The Darryl Kile Good Guy Award was established in his honor, annually for one player on both the Cardinals and the Astros. Bagwell was the first recipient for the Astros in 2003. Ken Caminiti, another former teammate of Bagwell's, died on October 10, 2004. Bagwell delivered a eulogy at his funeral.

During a 3–2 loss to the Montreal Expos on April 26, 2003, Bagwell's infield single gave him 2,000 hits for his career, joining Biggio as the only Astro to achieve this mark. Bagwell collected the assist for the final out of a combined no-hitter and 8–0 win over the Yankees on June 11. He scooped a ground ball batted from Hideki Matsui and relayed it to Billy Wagner covering first base, the final of a record six pitchers participating in the feat. Playing the Cincinnati Reds on July 20, 2003, Bagwell hit two home runs for the 400th of his career off Danny Graves, becoming the 35th player in MLB history to do so. ESPN's "The List" ranked Bagwell as the second-most underrated athlete of the top four North American professional sports leagues in August 2003, and Biggio third.

When he hit his sixth career grand slam against Milwaukee on April 9, 2004, Bagwell tied a club record. He recorded his 200th career stolen base on August 30 against Cincinnati to become the tenth player in MLB history to reach that plateau while hitting 400 home runs. On September 18, 2004, Bagwell collected his 1,500th career RBI with a single in the third inning against the Brewers. Two innings later, he homered for his 1,500th run scored, becoming just the 29th player in MLB history and first Astro to reach both milestones. Bagwell finished with 27 home runs, stopping a streak of eight consecutive seasons with at least 30, but extending a streak of 12 with at least 20.

The Astros faced the Braves in the playoffs for the fourth time in Bagwell's career in the 2004 NLDS. In Game 3, on October 7, he hit his first career postseason home run off Mike Hampton in the first inning in a 4–2 extra-inning loss. After three failed attempts to advance past the first round of the playoffs earlier in Bagwell's career – all to the Braves (1997, 1999, and 2001) – and seven overall in 43 years of franchise history, the Astros defeated the Braves for their first-ever playoff series win. The quartet dubbed the "Killer B's" – this time with the additions of Carlos Beltrán and Lance Berkman – ignited the Astros' offense, batting .395 (34-for-86) with eight home runs, 21 RBI and 24 runs scored. The Astros scored an NLDS-record 36 runs in all and Bagwell batted .318 with two home runs and five RBI. They advanced to Bagwell's first National League Championship Series (NLCS) to face the Cardinals. St. Louis defeated Houston in seven games to advance to the World Series.

According to the Red Sox' then-general manager, Lou Gorman, the trade made sense at the time. Gorman spent the ensuing years defending the decision-making process that led up to the Bagwell trade. In his 2005 autobiography, One Pitch from Glory, Gorman noted that Boston already had Wade Boggs at the major league level at third base, and had rated prospects Tim Naehring and Scott Cooper higher than Bagwell on the organization's depth chart. Bagwell had seen some time in the minors at first base, but he was blocked from that position by Mo Vaughn. Gordon pursued Andersen only after receiving assurances from MLB's player relations committee that Andersen would not be lost to the new-look free agency. Nevertheless, the trade is considered one of the most one-sided trades in baseball history. Not only did the Red Sox lose Andersen to free agency after one month, but Naehring and Cooper were both out of baseball by 1997.

In February 2005, Bagwell and Biggio were jointly inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. Shortly after the 2005 season began, the chronic arthritic condition in his shoulder that had begun in 2001 finally sidelined him, rendering him inactive for three-quarters of the season. The former Gold Glove winner was now subjugated into a defensive liability with severely restricted throwing ability, forcing him to "push" the ball instead of throwing it. Teams began taking advantage of his defensive increased weakness. Once possessing great ability to throw out the lead runner at third base ahead on bunt plays, Bagwell found it difficult to practice with the other infielders between innings.

After having played 4,714 games and their entire major league careers together in Houston, Bagwell and Biggio appeared in their first World Series in 2005. Bagwell was the Astros' designated hitter in the first two games against the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field, and a pinch hitter in the two games played in Houston at Minute Maid Park. His last official major league plate appearance was in the seventh inning of Game 4, when he pinch hit for pitcher Brandon Backe and grounded out. The White Sox won this contest to sweep the Astros and secure the championship. With contributions of only a partially healthy Bagwell, the White Sox outscored the Astros by a combined six runs, the lowest scoring differential in World Series history. Together with Biggio, Bagwell received Baseball America's Lifetime Achievement Award after the 2005 season.

Per Baseball-Reference.com, Bagwell's 79.6 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) rank sixth-most all-time among first basemen, trailing only Lou Gehrig, Albert Pujols, Jimmie Foxx, Cap Anson, and Roger Connor. Bagwell is fourth among those who have played since 1900, and the only first baseman with a higher WAR since World War II is Pujols. In the final 12 seasons of Bagwell's career, Houston finished in first or second place in the National League Central division 11 times, winning four division titles and qualifying for the playoffs six times, culminating in his lone World Series appearance in 2005. One of the most consistent players in history, he produced at least 4.7 WAR per season in each of his first 11 seasons, and no fewer than 3.7 in all except his final and 15th, which was abruptly cut short by shoulder injury. He spent the first nine of seasons of his career (1991–99) playing home games at the Astrodome, notorious for its reputation as the toughest park in which to hit when baseball was still played there. However, during those nine years, his production was nearly identical at home (.303 average/.421 OBP/.546 SLG) as it was on the road (.305 average/.412 OBP/.544 SLG). In that same period of time, his 160 OPS+ was fourth behind Bonds, McGwire, and Frank Thomas; his 56.7 WAR third to Bonds and Ken Griffey Jr. From 1994 to 2000, a span including his age-26 through age-32 seasons, he averaged 41 home runs and 41 doubles per 162 games while batting .309, .433 OBP, and .593 SLG for a 167 OPS+.

On January 23, 2006, the Astros indicated that they would file a claim on an insurance policy on Bagwell's health to collect approximately $15.6 million of the $17 million in salary owed to him for the 2006 season. Days earlier, orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews had performed a physical examination on Bagwell and determined that he had become "completely disabled" in terms of ability to play baseball again, including a maximum ability to throw a baseball 35 miles per hour (56 km/h) for short distances. Because of the language of the policy, the Astros could not release him without losing their settlement, nor could he take the field. The decision effectively eliminated his chances of playing again in the Major Leagues. On March 28, Cigna rejected the claim, contending that because Bagwell had played during 2005 World Series he could not have become more disabled during the period of baseball inactivity characteristic of the offseason.

The Astros declined to pick up Bagwell's $18 million club option for 2007, instead buying it out for $7 million. He filed for free agency in November 2006 but announced his retirement one month later. Owner Drayton McLane and general manager Tim Purpura stated that he would remain in player development department of the Astros organization, as one of the assistants to the general manager.

Bagwell made his first public appearance at Minute Maid Park since the end of his career on June 28, 2007. Former teammate and long-time friend Biggio had just logged his 3,000th career hit in the seventh inning against the Colorado Rockies. Bagwell, who was in the dugout, emerged to congratulate him. The Astros fans, who had momentarily quieted after cheering Biggio for his achievement, erupted into cheers again the moment Biggio dragged Bagwell onto the playing field and to the first base line. "The thing with Baggy is that he and I worked so hard here for this city and for this organization," Biggio remarked. "We made so many sacrifices as far as playing the game and giving your body to a city, a team." Together, they bowed to the crowd as Bagwell raised Biggio's arm, and returned to the dugout. Biggio was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.

The Houston Astros officially retired Bagwell's jersey number 5 on August 26, 2007, prior to the start of a game versus the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was the eighth player in Astros history to have his number retired. Two of Bagwell's closest friends and former teammates, Biggio and Brad Ausmus, spoke on his behalf. Said Ausmus, "He was the quintessential teammate. He was a superstar who always put the team before himself. And between he and Bidge (Biggio), they always shouldered the blame we struggled and tried to deflect the credit when we won." Yastrzemski, Bagwell's childhood hero, delivered a special message: "Congratulations, Jeff, on your number being retired. I begged the Red Sox not to trade you when you were in the minors with us. Boston's loss was Houston's gain. See you in Cooperstown." Three first bases were used in the game, each embossed with a commemorative insignia and inscription, "No. 5, Jeff Bagwell jersey retirement, Aug. 26, 2007." One was given to Bagwell and the other two were auctioned to raise funds on behalf of the Astros in Action Foundation.

In 2009, Bagwell received the Bill Shea Distinguished Little League Graduate Award.

On July 11, 2010, the Astros hired Bagwell to be their hitting coach, replacing Sean Berry. At the time of the switch, the Astros had the second-worst average (.237) in the majors and the worst OBP (.295). At the end of the season, the team marginally improved, but was still last in the league in OBP (.303) and SLG (.362) and Bagwell announced he would not return as hitting coach.

Eligible for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame for the first time in 2011, speculation abounded that some baseball writers initially refrained from voting for Bagwell on the premise that he used performance-enhancing drugs, since most of his playing career took place during what is commonly referred to as "the steroid era." In spite of the speculation, no concrete evidence has surfaced linking him to the use of performance-enhancing drugs; the closest to evidence that exists is a report that surfaced that he disclosed use of androstenedione to a Houston Chronicle reporter in 1998. At that time, neither the FDA nor MLB had banned its use, which apparently had already become widespread around the game. Bagwell has not been connected with any of the 104 positive samples in the 2003 survey tests that were leaked. Neither was he summoned for interview nor among the 89 players named in the Mitchell Report released in 2007.

In 2011, Bagwell received 242 votes, or 41.7% of total ballots cast; the threshold for entry is 75%. In his second year on the ballot, he received 321 votes, or 56.0% of the ballots cast. In 2016, he received his highest percentage of the vote to that time, 71.6%. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2017, his seventh year of eligibility on the BBWAA ballot, with 86.2% of the vote and was inducted on July 30, 2017.

Commented longtime Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox on Bagwell – who opposed him from the dugout for the entirety of his career, including numerous times in the playoffs: "Jeff Bagwell was [in Houston] for so long and starred every year. For me a guy that dominated like that for one team, even in the league stats through the years. His are up there with anybody's. I would put him in right away. So he would get my vote on the first ballot." Still, in spite of the speculation that Bagwell used performance-enhancing drugs, San Francisco Chronicle sportswriter Bruce Jenkins opined that Bagwell did not have the credentials to be in the Hall of Fame. In July 2015, he acknowledged "that many are suspicious of Bagwell—without proof, as you say. I've always voted for the best players—Bonds, McGwire, Clemens, etc.—so that's not a factor for me. I always found Bagwell just a bit short of Hall of Fame material."

In January 2015, Bagwell reportedly sold his home in the Memorial neighborhood of Houston.

As of 2016, Bagwell's .948 OPS ranked 21st all-time and 10th among right-handed hitters. His .408 career OBP was ranked 39th all-time, tied for 11th among right-handed hitters, 10th among first basemen, and fourth among right-handed first basemen. He is one of 12 players in MLB history to hit at 400 home runs and attain an OBP of at least .400. The only National League first baseman to reach the 30–30 club, he is the only first baseman in history to do it twice, and is the only first baseman to reach both 400 home runs and 200 stolen bases. He is just one of 21 players in history to win both a Rookie of the Year Award and an MVP. His 1,529 RBI during the span of his playing career ranked second in the Majors and first among right-handed hitters, 1,517 runs scored ranked second, 449 home runs and 2,150 games played ranked fifth. He was in the top 10 in the MVP voting five times. From 1994 to 2003, he led his position in stolen bases, doubles, hits, runs, walks, and extra-base hits, was second in games and RBI, and third in home runs. He is the Astros' all-time leader in HR and RBI and the first Astro to win an MVP.

Bagwell, along with Craig Biggio were on hand to witness the Astros win their first ever World Series championship at Dodger Stadium on November 1, 2017. Both were elated at their franchise's first championship with Bagwell saying, "I'm ecstatic. They're great kids, they play hard, they never gave up. To see them win, the celebration, excitement, relief...the city of Houston, I'm sure, is going crazy right now. I couldn't be more proud of the guys that represent the Houston Astros right now." Both Bagwell and Biggio received World Series rings from the Astros during the World Series ring ceremony before an April 3, 2018 game against the Baltimore Orioles.