Jeff Bagwell Quotations

It's just a natural progression right now. I'm throwing a little bit between innings and getting my at-bats.

I told Phil I don't want this to be a charity case or sentimental pick. That's not what Phil is about. He's a standup guy and he's going to be honest with me. This is what he wanted. He wanted me to be here and he wanted me to get an opportunity to play, because he thinks I can do something.

From the fans to the players to the manager to the umpires, the support I've gotten the last six months has been mind-boggling. I couldn't appreciate it more. ... It's a heck of a job to have for 15 years.

I thought it all went well. I was just trying to get the (bat) head out. In general I guess I did. I hit the ball on the barrel, which is good. It's coming. I just need to keep hitting. It takes awhile to get those muscles strong again.

I thought it all went well, ... I was just trying to get the (bat) head out. In general I guess I did. I hit the ball on the barrel, which is good. It's coming. I just need to keep hitting. It takes a while to get those muscles strong again.

I think the teams are to blame. They start out by giving guys out of high school millions of dollars and contracts that guarantee they'll be in the big leagues by a certain time. Then they coddle them all the way through the system. They get used to having things given to them rather than having earned them.

It's not good for us that he's had hamstring problems for us in the past. We need Rock (Clemens) to pitch. We are here partly because of him.

But the great fans are going to be next door, so we'll just have another nice, new park with the same fans. The best of both worlds.

I hope I didn't play my last game, ... I want to be ready to play next season.

The last one cut. I felt all right the whole at-bat, the whole night, but I swung at a couple of high fastballs. I didn't do a good job of getting the ball down. He's a guy who just comes in and throws hard stuff. With a guy like that, you've got to get it going, because decisions have to be made fast or it's sayonara.