Local kid Biggio to have number retired

The Houston Astros will retire Craig Biggio's No. 7 before Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks. I've had two encounters with Biggio, who grew up near my hometown of Smithtown, N.Y. Both were positive.

The first was in June 2003. One of my first assignments for YES was to cover the Yankees' three-game interleague series against the Astros. My feature article was of local interest, Biggio, and we spoke for more than 20 minutes about growing up in the area and his career in the big-leagues. As fate had it, I reported history later that evening, though it wasn't exactly what my employers had in mind. Six Astros pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter against the Yankees. I didn't speak to Biggio afterwords, but I was in Joe Torre's office. Whoa boy.

The second was at the Thurman Munson Awards in February, when Biggio was honored for his excellence in competition and philanthropic work within the community. He was newly retired after becoming the only player with at least 3,000 hits (3,060), 600 doubles (668), 400 stolen bases (414) and 250 home runs (291), but those gaudy numbers never got to his head. In a day and age where many players' egos dwarf skyscrapers, Biggio stood humbled at being compared to his role model, Munson.

Remember, Biggio began his career as a catcher. He's also one of the great guys in sports, deserving to be compared to Munson. Deserving to have his No. 7 never to be worn again in Houston.