Bagwell returns to baseball

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Houston Astros great Jeff Bagwell will soon be helping the team in Spring training as it prepares for the upcoming season.

Dave: Rookie of the year '91, National League Most Valuable Player' 94. You're the Astros' career leader in home runs, RBIs and that's just a few of the highlights. It's exhausting just reading all this Jeff. How does one accomplish all of that in a 15-year baseball career? How did you get here?

Jeff: I don't know. If it was up to me, actually it was up to my mother, she says it was because of her. You know what, it's I got lucky, I was blessed and I have some great people around me, you know. It was fun ride.

Dave: At what point in your career did you wake up one morning, look at yourself in the mirror and said, "Boy I am good at this?"

Jeff: I mean I was pretty good in 1994.

Dave: Yeah that was a great year.

Jeff: Yeah, after your first year, it's a blur. Second year you're like I just want to stay here and then you're trying to figure yourself out after that.

Dave: So many athletes move to Houston from all over the world really, and after their professional careers or whatever, they've made Houston their home. You did that too, what is so attractive about Houston?

Jeff: Well, I think for me is the people; I think actually people here care, they want to hear an answer: "I'm doing fine, how are you doing?" There's just good people here; I mean I just think they are generally nice.

Dave: How tough was it moving from being a national celebrity baseball player to being just another citizen?

Jeff: Not, none. I don't even know how to sign Jeff Bagwell on a ball anymore. All I know is that I sign Jeffrey R. Bagwell, which is on check. I mean it is, you know life's a challenge and kids are a challenge. I mean my kids are 16, 14, 12, 10 and 8. That's a challenge, but I wouldn't change it for the world.

Baseball has given me everything I mean, like I said I wouldn't be sitting here if it wasn't for baseball. Spending my entire career basically with Houston, big league career for sure, what the city's meant to me, I'm just happy with what I've done. I mean, everybody makes mistakes everybody does, you know, bad stuff, I'm no different than everybody else, I just happen to play baseball and I happen to, for a little bit did it alright.