A top five favorite franchise moment for many Houston Astros fans usually includes the 3,000th hit by Craig Biggio, the popular Hall-of-Famer who spent his entire 20-year MLB career in an Astros uniform.

In fact, an April 19, 2016 Houston Chronicle article listed that historic moment in 2007 as the #4 greatest moment in franchise history, published, of course, before the Astros snagged their first World Series Championship last November.

Most fans were touched by the heartwarming leap by 14-year-old Conor Biggio (with the younger Cavan trailing close behind) into his dad’s open arms moments after the milestone hit. The boys grew up on the Astros’ bench during home games, and even toiled as the team’s bat boys during their formative years.

“The greatest days of my life were when my dad was playing,” said Conor, in a 2015 interview. “We’d come home from school and get in the car, and my dad and I would be at a major league ballpark and a major league clubhouse. Those memories will be with me for the rest of my life. They’re the greatest times ever.”

Craig was a 1st-round draft choice (22nd overall) of the Astros in 1987. He married Patty Egan three years later.

Having your sons serve as bat boys isn’t unusual. But, what makes the parental bonanza for Craig and Patty so remarkable is that daughter, Quinn, has embraced her own diamond dreams, as she embarks on her college journey. The boys have become baseball-loving adults, as well.

Quinn Patricia Biggio

Quinn Biggio is wrapping up her senior year at the all-female St. Agnes Academy in the Sharpstown area of southwest Houston, enjoying her time on the Tigers’ volleyball and softball teams. But, in November 2017, she signed a letter of intent to attend Notre Dame University in fall 2018 as a right-handed infielder on the Fighting Irish softball team.

Head coach Deanna Gumpf gives her scouting report on the youngest Biggio: “Quinn is a very athletic player and possesses a powerful punch at the plate. She has very good glove work and awareness, and is very fundamentally sound. She has a huge softball IQ and uses it well on the field, which I think helps her with her leadership because she is always someone who is very dependable.”

Quinn’s mother, Patty, chimed in on the faith aspect of the family’s school choices, in a 2015 NCAA interview: “I’m a product of Catholic schools, from kindergarten to college. We’re a very strong Catholic family. Craig went to Seton Hall. His coach was a strong Catholic, and had a great impact on Craig. He was a Methodist, and he converted to Catholicism when he was at Seton Hall. He did that on his own.

“A Catholic education was very important to Craig and me when we were raising our children. They went to a Catholic grammar school, they went to a Catholic high school, and the ultimate would be not only going to a Catholic college, but also going to Notre Dame.”

Follow Quinn @QuinnBiggio on Twitter

Conor Joseph Biggio

Conor, 25, is Craig and Patty’s oldest. He put himself on Houston fans’ radar when he hurled himself into his dad’s arms in the summer of Craig’s final season, providing a thrilling celebratory hug all Astro Nation seemed to participate in by osmosis.

As a corporate “thank you” for his contribution to the only team father Craig ever played for (as well as a tip of the cap to Craig, of course), the Astros drafted Conor in the 34th round (1,009th overall) of the 2015 MLB draft.

“It was a whirlwind of so many emotions,” Conor told the Notre Dame Observer upon finding out he had been drafted. “It was a special moment for my family and I. I grew up with the Astros organization, so it is cool to be associated with an organization that is so near and dear to my family.”

To be fair, Conor was a baseball player on the Notre Dame baseball team, but moments after being drafted, he disclosed that, while appreciative of the gesture, a career in MLB’s front office was his goal. Several short-term baseball jobs followed, including a two-month baseball operations apprentice role for the Astros, and three months as an intern with The Legacy Agency, who represents hundreds of athletes, including several Houston players.

The left-handed Biggio was used primarily as a late-inning pinch runner during his career with the Irish. He played in 101 career games with 40 starts in the outfield. He had 39 hits, four doubles, and 16 RBIs while stealing 18 bases and scoring 33 runs. Known for his patience at the plate, echoing his father, Biggio also had 26 walks and eight hits by pitch.

He played summer ball in the Cape Cod League in the summers of 2012 and 2014.

Conor, like Cavan, played at Houston’s St. Thomas High School, where their head coach was their father. Coach Biggio led St. Thomas to back-to-back Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) Class 5A state baseball titles in 2010 and 2011.

Conor has said he gained a tremendous amount of baseball knowledge from playing on a state championship baseball team at St. Thomas.

“I was real young when (dad) was still playing, so I couldn’t really grasp some of the stuff that he was saying, like I did when I was older. But from a player perspective, watching him play the game is exactly how I think everyone should play the game: Give it your all, one hundred percent, get dirty, do whatever it takes for the team to win,” Conor asserted.

Conor ultimately got his post-draft wish, and is currently working in New York City for Major League Baseball as coordinator of baseball operations/labor relations.

Follow Conor @GETBIGgio10 on Twitter

Cavan Thomas Biggio

The middle Biggio kid is Cavan, and he’s well on his way to following in Dad’s footsteps as a major league ballplayer. A second baseman, the 22-year-old bats left like his brother and throws right-handed. Interestingly enough, his dad is one of the few people, much less ballplayers, who bat and throw right-handed, but writes lefty. Craig is joined by fellow Hall-of-Famer Brooks Robinson and Atlanta Braves 1980s star, Dale Murphy, as retired players with the same distinction.

Cavan followed Conor to Notre Dame, but not before being drafted in the 29th round of the 2013 MLB Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies following his St. Thomas graduation.

While at St. Thomas, though, Cavan opened his high school career with a bang, hitting .380 with five homers while leading the team in walks (21) and runs scored (29) as a freshman. He followed that up with a sophomore season where he earned first team all-district, and a Perfect Game honorable mention Underclass All-American after batting .397, and leading the team in homers (nine), on-base percentage (.406) and stolen bases (14).

The hits just kept on coming, as he was selected first team all-district and all-state, and was named a Perfect Game Underclass All-American as a junior, after hitting .420 with two homers. His senior year highlighted his .410 BA, with seven long balls, while being named a Perfect Game All-American.

The 6’1″, 203-pound Cavan had this to say about the storied university he attended the next year: “At Notre Dame, what they teach is just like how my dad has lived his life and how he went about his career…selflessness, going about your faith every day, hard work, tradition. That’s how my dad goes about his business, and it’s how my brother and I have gone about our business in our lives.”

Like his brother before him, Cavan spent two summers on the Cape, in 2014 and 2015, for the Harwich Mariners, the latter an All-Star campaign for him. Most notable in his 178 total ABs was his high walk rate, earning 43 free passes to just 59 strikeouts, while hitting .242.

Cavan played in all 167 games with 166 starts in his three-year Fighting Irish career. His line was .272/.406/.425, as he amassed 164 hits, of which 34 were doubles, his dad’s big league specialty. Combined, he also had seven triples, 15 homers, 70 RBIs, 257 total bases, 125 walks, 18 hits by pitch, 33 stolen bases, and 117 runs scored.

He was thrilled to be drafted, in 2016, by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 5th round (162nd overall), and turned in a combined, respectable .273 with Toronto’s short and full season Single-A affiliates his first pro season. He was even invited to the Jays’ Spring Training camp in 2017, before hitting .233 for Dunedin (Florida State League Advanced-A) in 2017. In 463 ABs last season, Cavan slapped an enviable 17 doubles, five triples, and 11 home runs, although he nearly doubled his strikeout rate over his walk total, 140-74.

The Baseball Draft Report filed this post-draft scouting report: “I think the hit tool (bat speed, pitch recognition, approach) and good enough power/speed are enough for him to profile as an every day contributor offensively, while his glove at second should be dependable enough to make him an average or so all-around player.” Cavan awaits an invitation to the Blue Jays’ 2018 Spring Training camp.

Follow Cavan @doinitBIGgio23 on Twitter

Craig and Patty’s Eldest Has the Last Word

“There’s always the idea that you have the last name, you have that on your back forever,” MLB exec Conor once said. “They can’t take that away. It’s something you embrace and something you’re proud of, something you don’t want to shy away from; but at the same time you want to be your own player. You don’t want to be Craig Biggio, you want to be Conor, Cavan, Quinn Biggio. You want to be yourself. Don’t try to be something he is.

“Be whoever you are, whatever that is. It’s perfectly fine.”

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