Jeff Bagwell.

Who could forget that batting stance!

The squat.

Bagwell didn’t just step into a batter’s box.

He folded himself into it.

Feet spread wide.

Knees bent.

Crouched so low you wondered how he could possibly swing from there.

Kids, don’t try this at home!

But it sure worked for Bags.

449 career home runs.

A National League MVP Award.

And a plaque in Cooperstown.

Pretty, pretty good.

Watch Bagwell’s home run swing.

For 15 seasons, Jeff Bagwell was the face of the Houston Astros.

Alongside Craig Biggio, Bagwell was part of the Killer B’s. Together, they turned a struggling franchise into a perennial contender.

Houston loved him.

Baseball gave Bagwell just about everything a guy could ask for.

Money. Fame. A place to belong.

But there was one thing baseball hadn't prepared him for.

Life without it.

He had torn his labrum in 2001 and played through years of pain.

In 2005, the Astros reached the World Series.

Watch the Astros celebrate their trip to the Fall Classic.

But Bagwell was limited to just eight at-bats.

Those would be the last at-bats of his Major League career.

He tried coming back the following spring.

But it was over.

Done.

For most of his adult life, Bagwell had been a baseball player.

Now what?

And there was one question he couldn't answer.

“Who am I?”

His shoulder still hurt like hell.

The game that had defined his life was gone.

That’s when Bagwell began drinking heavily.

Bagwell’s battle with the bottle would last more than a decade.

He went through rehab twice.

His family and friends staged nine interventions.

Nine.

In 2017, Bagwell was elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame.

He quit drinking for three months.

He later said he “white-knuckled it” so he could deliver his induction speech.

Watch Bagwell’s Hall of Fame Speech

Once the ceremony was over and he returned home, the drinking resumed.

A few months later, it all came to a head.

The Astros were making a postseason run.

Bagwell was supposed to attend a playoff game against the Yankees.

He never showed up.

He was drinking.

The Astros were not happy.

They told Bagwell not to attend the first two games of the World Series in Los Angeles, so he wouldn’t embarrass anyone.

One of the greatest players in Astros history. Now he was being told to stay home while his team played for a championship.

The one thing that had always given Bagwell a place to belong was slipping away.

Bagwell was running out of chances.

His drinking was now jeopardizing his relationship with the Astros.

Bagwell knew he couldn't go on like this.

Before Game 7 of the 2017 ALCS, he took one final drink.

And he hasn't had a drink since.

But the fight was far from over.

Bagwell had been to rehab twice. His family and friends had staged nine interventions.

This time, he was determined to get sober—with their help, his faith and AA.

He started by walking into an AA meeting. The first time he heard the phrase “Keep coming back,” he thought it sounded crazy. But he kept showing up.

Bagwell talks with Jon Paul Morosi about his battle with alcohol.

When the Astros won the World Series, Bagwell was there with his wife, Rachel and Craig Biggio.

It was less than two weeks after his last drink. His recovery was only beginning.

His children had watched their father “basically melt away.”

Getting him back would take more than one decision made before a baseball game.

You know the saying about cats having nine lives? Bagwell figures he’s had a few more.

“I might have had 10, 11ish, and I take that very seriously.”

He talks openly about his alcoholism, hoping his story might help someone else fighting the same battle.

[Bagwell talks about the gift of sobriety]

Baseball is still part of his life.

He’s a senior adviser to Astros owner Jim Crane.

Jeff Bagwell. The Hall of Famer.

But he’ll tell you that isn’t his biggest accomplishment.

John Boxley
Whatever Happened To…?