Biggio To Retire After This Season

HOUSTON — Houston Astros infielder Craig Biggio plans to retire at the end of the season after a 20-year career in which he joined the elite 3,000-hit club.

"I get to go out on top. The 3,000th hit night was the best. I'll never forget that," Biggio said at a news conference yesterday. "I'm in a good place. I think I've done everything I could on a baseball field."

The 41-year-old got his 3,000th hit on June 28.

"I just can't believe it's over. It's gone by fast," he said. "I have no regrets. I played the game the right way."

Biggio is batting .247 with 24 doubles, five homers and 31 RBIs. He began yesterday with 3,014 hits, six shy of tying Rafael Palmeiro for 23rd place.

Biggio has played his entire major league career with the Astros, becoming the longest-tenured player in franchise history.

A teary-eyed Biggio said he will miss putting on his uniform every day and also will miss the fans.

Along with teammate and friend Jeff Bagwell, who retired before the start of this season, Biggio led the Astros to four division titles, the team's first NL pennant and trip to the World Series in 2005. Biggio's 3,000th hit came one day shy of the 19th anniversary of his first career hit, a single off Orel Hershiser on June 29, 1988.

Biggio is the only player in major league history with 600 doubles, 250 homers, 3,000 hits and 400 steals. Biggio is a career .282 hitter. He has already been inducted into the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.

A seven-time All-Star, Biggio starred at Seton Hall and was the 22nd player selected in the 1987 amateur draft. He caught his first four seasons.

He made his first All-Star game in 1991, but the Astros moved him to second base in 1992, a position he had never played. But he made the All-Star team again, ranking among the NL's top 10 in runs, walks and stolen bases.

After the Astros acquired Jeff Kent in 2002, Biggio moved to the outfield. When Kent left in 2004, Biggio returned to second.

Biggio considered leaving Houston when he became a free agent in 1995 and had an offer from Colorado. Astros owner Drayton McLane said he called Biggio every day for three weeks to persuade him to stay.

Biggio, his wife, Patty, and their three children live in Houston. He thanked his family at the news conference.

"I can't justify being out of their lives any more. I want to be home," he said.