Boy, I thought Jeff Bagwell was going to supplant Scott Cooper as the next great Red Sox third baseman. I liked Cooper, but I thought Bagwell was the real deal. As I recall, this was the first time I ever saw a picture of Bagwell, and I was kind of surprised that he was so goofy looking. Still, the guy had hit .310 in the minors the year before, and I treasured every Best card I could find that year. The photo on this card, in particular, resonated with me. It looked to me like it had been taken in the Fall, with the trees having no leaves in the background, the way Bagwell was dressed, and the lighting coming across the photo. I couldn’t wait to see him in the majors.
Of course, then he was dealt in the Larry Andersen deal, and I lost a bit of interest (don’t tell me why, but I had some innate interest in Red Sox prospects back then). Now he’s a likely Hall of Famer, and this card seems like a pretty good one to have…not to mention the whole novelty factor of him in a Red Sox uniform of some stripe, since he was a career Astro. Bags rocked, and I’m glad I got in on the ground floor with his career.
