Despite falling short of reaching the 75 percent needed to earn entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame, Houston Astros great Craig Biggio has managed to keep a positive attitude and a strong sense of humor.
Not that it should come as any great surprise, mind you, considering Biggio held on to both throughout the ups and downs of his Hall worthy 20-year career. But still, it was nice to see those attributes on display when Biggio met with the media in Houston just 24 hours after the voting results were announced.
The news conference, which was held at Minute Maid Park, focused entirely on Biggio's experience as he awaited word on his possible election. In it, we learned about a phone call he received from a New York number right around the time he was told he'd be hearing from Cooperstown in the event he had been elected. Needless to say, it wasn't the call Biggio was anticipating, but instead a New York radio station hoping for a last minute interview.
Biggio declined, of course, but classified it as the funniest part of a day filled with anxiety and nervous energy.
The light mood at the media gathering continued as Biggio moved to discussing the 68.2 percent he received in the voting — the highest number of any player on the ballot — and he even managed to provide a classic line when talking about how he hopes to reach 75 percent in 2014.
"Was I disappointed? I'm pretty close [to getting in]. We got a 68 [percent], and I'm going to go back and study a little harder and hopefully I'll get a 75 next year."
If only it were that simple, Craig.
On the other hand, I'm sure many fans and analysts would suggest several members of the BBWAA should be required to pass a few tests of their own before filling out another Hall of Fame ballot, but that's a different argument for a different time.
Getting back to Biggio quickly, he did get serious when asked about the writer's failures to elect a single player to the Hall of Fame in 2013.
"I think it's kind of unfair, but it's the reality of the era we played in," Biggio said. "Obviously, some guys are guilty and other guys aren't. It's painful for the ones that weren't, and hopefully this situation will all pass and move on and we'll have something possibly good to talk about maybe next year."
But the main message I got from the soon-to-be Hall of Famer is that despite how worked up we all get over who we believe deserved to get it and who we believed didn't, life goes on for the candidates involved and they're all going to be just fine regardless of the status of their legacies.
Also, there will always be a next year and there will always be another chance for the BBWAA to get it right (or wrong).
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