Bye-bye Biggio

Baseball fans have two more months to enjoy the career of Craig Biggio.

On Tuesday, Biggio announced his intention to retire at the end of the season. Given the state of athletes and their pseudo-retirements, it's easy for people to say Biggio's pronouncement holds no water.

But Biggio is different from many of today's self-absorbed superstars. It seems he knows when it's time to step down. He knows he can no longer help the Houston Astros on an everyday basis like he has for the past 19 seasons.

Biggio's respect for the game and those who came before him have made him a fan favorite and his 3,000-plus hits have made him a Hall of Fame candidate. But it's his endearing support of the Sunshine Kids that sticks out to me.

From the hat pin he wore until this season to his annual golf tournament to the times he hosts the kids at Minute Maid Park, Biggio has always kept the group of children with cancer in the forefront of people's attention.

So while his numbers may or may not be worthy of Hall of Fame acclaim, his charitable work has made him a Hall of Fame member of the Houston community.