March 22, 2006, 11:49PM
Bagwell presses onward
Astro continues bid to play, but 'if this is it, this is it'
By JOSE DE JESUS ORTIZ
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
KISSIMMEE, FLA. - Jeff Bagwell hoped to have settled into first base by now. But 11 days before the National League champion Astros open the regular season at Minute Maid Park, the franchise's all-time leader in home runs and RBIs is still unsure if his injured right shoulder will let him play this year.
Bagwell is adamant that it's too early to say he won't play this season.
"I wouldn't give up on it quite yet," he said. "That could change."
Regardless, the possibility of never playing again has sunk in more than ever for the National League's 1991 Rookie of the Year and 1994 Most Valuable Player.
"I played 15 years in the big leagues," Bagwell said. "That's 15 years longer than I ever thought I would have played. I've had a great career. I've had a lot of fun. I've met a lot of great people. If this is it, this is it. I'm OK with that. But as I've said all along, this was just an opportunity to see if I can do it again."
Whatever he decides, Bagwell is already at peace. He has vowed to be completely honest with the Astros, who deemed him a disabled player in January when they filed an insurance claim to recoup $15.6 million on the $17 million he is set to earn this year.
Bagwell, 37, has had right shoulder problems since 2001. He finally landed on the disabled list last May and missed 115 games in the longest DL stint of his career.
He returned in September and served as the Astros' designated hitter in the first two games of the World Series. He then rehabbed extensively over the winter to see if he could play this spring.
Bagwell served as the DH until he played four innings at first base on March 12 in his first game in the field since May 3. In the best-case scenario, Bagwell would have been playing the field consistently by this week.