Craig Biggio: 'It's real. It wasn't a dream'

Craig Biggio and his family saw his Hall of Fame plaque hanging in the gallery for the first time at the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Monday in Cooperstown,N.Y.

Monday was Biggio's first full day as a member of the Hall of Fame, and the day could not have had a better start.

"It's real," Biggio said in an interview with FOX 26 Sports and MLB.com. "It really happened. Yesterday really happened. It wasn't a dream. It's just pretty amazing, pretty cool.

"For your plaque and to have the Astros star on it, dedicate your whole life and career to one town, one city, to see it hanging on a wall in Cooperstown, it doesn't get any better than that."

Biggio was thrilled to be able to share another in a long line of special moments with his family.

"I did it on the baseball field, but they did it behind the scenes," Biggio said. "Their sacrifices were just as big as my sacrifices were as a player, and to be able to have today and enjoy it with them, it's great.

"The only people I wish that were here were my mom and my dad, the only two people that are missing, but I know they are watching from above and they're happy."

Biggio's plaque, along with those belonging to fellow inductees Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz, are only a few feet away from the Hall of Fame's first class that includes guys like Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb.

"It's kind of crazy when you think about it," Biggio said. "You're talking about these guys here. Those guys were the Hall of Famers. Sometimes you don't view yourself as one of those guys, but now you are. It's kind of crazy in a way."

There were dozens of Astros/Biggio fans watching the Biggio family going through their special moment at the Hall of Fame.

"You just think about obviously having your plaque," Biggio said. "I'm thinking about the fans. The amount of fans that came up from Houston. The journey up here, enjoyed it together. It's really special."

Biggio said he has yet to read everything written on his plaque, but how the inscription starts is all-good by him.

"Every time I keep looking at it I see the first word, gritty," Biggio said. "When you look at it and the first word is gritty, that's kind of the player that I was.
"I still haven't got through the rest of it yet, but I like the way it starts. It's perfect."

Biggio will always use his future visits to the Hall of Fame to learn as much as he can about his new teammates.

"Somebody asked me the question when I walked through the hallway 'am I going to just walk to my plaque,' and no I'll always stop and look at the other guys first, and try to take something away from each guy each time that you come before you get to yours."

And Biggio hopes others will be able to take away something from his journey as well.

"I think it's pretty special," Biggio said. "For my story, the cool thing about it is I grew up in a small town in King's Park, not to far from here. I'm five-foot-10 1/2. If a guy like me can get in the Hall of Fame, why can't you?

"Dream big, live big, you never know what's going to happen. From a kid who grew up not to far from here and has got a plaque on there, you never know what's going to happen."