"It's been stressful": Jeff Bagwell on the Astros in the race for the playoffs

Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell is no stranger to Astros fans and certainly isn't an unfamiliar face to baseball enthusiasts in Corpus Christi.

The Astros' all-time home run leader has attended several Hooks games in recent years and was even the celebrity speaker at the Ronald McDonald House Charities annual Casa de Amor Gala in 2019.

Bagwell was back in the Coastal Bend on Thursday as the keynote speaker for the second-annual Children's Advocacy Center of the Coastal Bend Garden of Hope Gala at the Solomon Ortiz Center in downtown Corpus Christi.

Bagwell's goal was to promote the Children's Advocacy Center, which has relied on community support to fulfill healing and justice in the life of every child who walks through their doors.

Since 1994, the Children's Advocacy Center offers specialized forensic interviews and therapeutic recovery services for victims of sexual abuse, severe physical abuse, drug-endangerment, human trafficking, and witnesses to violent crimes, homicide and domestic violence.

"I'm a father of five, so I can't imagine what it's like for a child to face abuse," Bagwell said. "So if I can come here, raise some money and bring awareness, hopefully I can help people understand the importance of what the Children's Advocacy Center does to help these children."

Bagwell, who retired from baseball in 2006, finished his career with 449 home runs, earned national league MVP honors in 1994, is a four-time All-Star and helped the Astros reached the World Series for the first time in franchise history in 2005.

"I think it's important for our community because this is a topic that goes under the radar," said Caitlyn Hill of the Children's Advocacy Center. "We don't want to talk about it because it's gross and nasty but what happens to these kids is very serious. It's personal to me and to have someone like (Jeff Bagwell) take time out of his day to speak to these kids shows a lot about his character and it helps support our cause of what we do."

Bagwell was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2017 and is currently in his role as the Astros' Senior Advisor of Ownership and Baseball Operations.

Bagwell, who directly supports player development, scouting and talent acquisition, praised the Astros' minor league system, including Double-A Corpus Christi that had eight players earn promotions to Triple-A Sugar Land in 2023.

"The Hooks have had a good year," Bagwell said. "They're probably one of our only teams that have won this year. I truly believe your best players are in Double-A here in Corpus Christi. Triple-A is more of a safeguard when big leaguers get hurt, but Double-A is where your best prospects are. People here in Corpus Christi get a chance to see some of our best players before they get to the big leagues."

The Astros currently hold a half-game lead in the American League West standings with eight games left in the regular season.

Houston's magic number to win the division and reach the postseason for the seventh consecutive season is down to seven.

"It's been stressful," Bagwell said. "We're kind of up and down. We play great and then we play terrible. Our starting pitching has struggled and then our bullpen has struggled and it goes hand in hand. And then we've had some games were we haven't hit, but the good news is we're in first place and our destiny is in front of us."

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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Astros legend Jeff Bagwell speaks at second-annual Garden of Hope Gala