In a nice reflection piece on scout Stan Benjamin, who recently passed away, Gerry Brown had this:
In 1990, when the Red Sox sought Houston reliever Larry Andersen for their stretch drive, Benjamin and scouting colleague Tom Mooney of Pittsfield recommended that the Astros ask for outfielder Jeff Bagwell in return.
They hesitated, because Bagwell had only four homers in 136 games for the Double A New Britain Red Sox “Babe Ruth couldn’t hit home runs in that ballpark,” Benjamin said of New Britain’s Beehive Field.
The Astros listened, took Bagwell and installed him as their regular first baseman. He played 15 years for them and hit 449 homers.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
