title: Female foeticide in India

text: According to a 2007 study by MacPherson, prenatal Diagnostic Techniques Act (PCPNDT Act) was highly publicized by NGOs and the government. Many of the ads used depicted abortion as violent, creating fear of abortion itself within the population. The ads focused on the religious and moral shame associated with abortion. MacPherson claims this media campaign was not effective because some perceived this as an attack on their character, leading to many becoming closed off, rather than opening a dialogue about the issue. This emphasis on morality, claims MacPherson, increased fear and shame associated with all abortions, leading to an increase in unsafe abortions in India.


title: Female foeticide in India

text: The government of India, in a 2011 report, has begun better educating all stakeholders about its MTP and PCPNDT laws. In its communication campaigns, it is clearing up public misconceptions by emphasizing that sex determination is illegal, but abortion is legal for certain medical conditions in India. The government is also supporting implementation of programs and initiatives that seek to reduce gender discrimination, including media campaign to address the underlying social causes of sex selection.


title: Female foeticide in India

text: Given the dismal Child Sex Ratio in the country, and the Supreme Court directive of 2003 to State governments to enforce the law banning the use of sex determination technologies, the Ministry set up a National Inspection and Monitoring Committee (NIMC). Dr. Rattan Chand, Director (PNDT) was made the convenor of the NIMC. The NIMC under the guidance of Dr. Rattan Chand conducted raids in some of the districts in Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Gujarat. In April, it conducted raids on three clinics in Delhi. In its reports sent to the Chief Secretaries of the respective States, the committee observed that the Authorities had failed to monitor or supervise the registered clinics.


title: Female foeticide in India

text: Other recent policy initiatives adopted by many states of India, claims Guilmoto, attempt to address the assumed economic disadvantage of girls by offering support to girls and their parents. These policies provide conditional cash transfer and scholarships only available to girls, where payments to a girl and her parents are linked to each stage of her life, such as when she is born, completion of her childhood immunization, her joining school at grade 1, her completing school grades 6, 9 and 12, her marriage past age 21. Some states are offering higher pension benefits to parents who raise one or two girls. Different states of India have been experimenting with various innovations in their girl-driven welfare policies. For example, the state of Delhi adopted a pro-girl policy initiative (locally called "Laadli scheme"), which initial data suggests may be lowering the birth sex ratio in the state. These types of government programs and schemes are a type of redistribution in an attempt to further development in the country. The central and state governments in India have noticed the country's failure to deal with female foeticide on its own and have come up with programs to deal with the problem at hand.


title: Female foeticide in India

text: A serious flaw that makes all of these programs ineffective is that they target only lower-income households, while ignoring the population of higher-income households also partaking in female foeticide. Sex determination tests and sex selective abortions are prevalent more amongst affluent families. For example, upper-class families in Haryana have high rates of foeticide and infanticide and the programs do not target these families. A study in Haryana found that the sex ratio at birth for upper caste women was 127 males for 100 females, compared with 105 with lower caste women. While cash transfers successfully improve school enrollment and immunization rates for girls, they do not directly address parent's demand for sons and gender-biased sex selection. Additionally, a study conducted by Bijayalaxmi Nanda, an associate professor of political science at Delhi University, found that many of the beneficiaries of the Delhi Ladli Scheme wanted to use the money received for marriage rather than educational expenses. Another problem with these government conditional cash transfers is that many of them only target the first two daughters in a family and have no incentive for families to have more than two daughters. These non-linear incentive models do not result in the same increase in benefits as the inputs and cash transfers put in by the government. Additionally, they only incentivize a change in behavior until an age, educational, number of daughters threshold and do not prompt people to act beyond these guidelines.


title: Female foeticide in India

text: Increasing awareness of the problem has led to multiple campaigns by celebrities and journalists to combat sex-selective abortions. Aamir Khan devoted the first episode "" of his show "Satyamev Jayate" to raise awareness of this widespread practice, focusing primarily on Western Rajasthan, which is known to be one of the areas where this practice is common. Its sex ratio dropped to 883 girls per 1,000 boys in 2011 from 901 girls to 1000 boys in 2001. Rapid response was shown by local government in Rajasthan after the airing of this show, showing the effect of media and nationwide awareness on the issue. A vow was made by officials to set up fast-track courts to punish those who practice sex-based abortion. They cancelled the licences of six sonography centres and issued notices to over 20 others.


title: Female foeticide in India

text: This has been done on the smaller scale. Cultural intervention has been addressed through theatre. Plays such as 'Pacha Mannu', which is about female infanticide/foeticide, has been produced by a women's theatre group in Tamil Nadu. This play was showing mostly in communities that practice female infanticide/foeticide and has led to a redefinition of a methodology of consciousness raising, opening up varied ways of understanding and subverting cultural expressions.


title: Female foeticide in India

text: The Mumbai High Court ruled that prenatal sex determination implied female foeticide. Sex determination violated a woman's right to live and was against India's Constitution.


title: Female foeticide in India

text: The "Beti Bachao", or Save girls campaign, has been underway in many Indian communities since the early 2000s. The campaign uses the media to raise awareness of the gender disparities creating, and resulting from, sex-selective abortion. Beti Bachao activities include rallies, posters, short videos and television commercials, some of which are sponsored by state and local governments and other organisations. Many celebrities in India have publicly supported the Beti Bachao campaign.


title: Religion in Armenia

text: As of 2011, most Armenians are Christians (97%) and are members of Armenia's own church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, which is one of the oldest Christian churches. It was founded in the 1st century AD, and in 301 AD became the first branch of Christianity to become a state religion.


title: Religion in Armenia

text: According to Pew Research publication in December 2018 Armenia is the 2nd most religious country among 34 European nations with 80% of respondents saying they believe in God with absolute certainty.


title: Religion in Armenia

text: In the 21st century, the largest minority Christian churches in the country are composed of new converts to Protestant and non-trinitarian Christianity, a combined total up to 38,989 persons (1.3%). Due to the country's ethnic homogeneity, non-Christian religions such as Yazidism and Islam have only a few adherents.


title: Religion in Armenia

text: Approximately 98.1% of the country's population is ethnic Armenian. Armenians have a very strong cultural connection to the Armenian Apostolic Church. About 97% of citizens belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church, an Eastern Christian denomination in communion with the other Oriental Orthodox churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church has its spiritual center at the Etchmiadzin Cathedral. The head of the church is Catholicos Karekin II.


title: Religion in Armenia

text: According to the Census of 2011, the composition of people identifying with religions in Armenia is the following: Christianity 2,862,366 (99%), of whom 2,797,187 are Armenian Apostolic (97%); 29,280 Evangelical; 13,996 Armenian Rite and Latin Rite Catholic; 8,695 Jehovah's Witness; 7,587 Eastern Orthodox (Russian, Ukrainian, Georgian, Greek); 2,874 Molokan (non-Orthodox Russians); 1,733 Assyrian Church of the East (Nestorian); 733 Protestant; 241 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; 23,374 Yazidi (0.8%); 5,146 Pagan (0.2%); 812 Muslim; 5,299 people of other religions (0.2%); 121,587 no response (4.0%).


title: Religion in Armenia

text: Yazidis are concentrated primarily in agricultural areas around Mount Aragats, northwest of the capital Yerevan. They live in 19 villages in the Aragatsotn Province, two villages in the Armavir Province, and one village in the Ararat Province.


title: Religion in Armenia

text: Armenian Catholics live mainly in the northern region, in seven villages in the Shirak Province and six villages in the Lori Province.


title: Religion in Armenia

text: Molokans live in 10 villages in the Lori Province, two villages in the Shirak Province, and two villages in the Gegharkunik Province.


title: Religion in Armenia

text: Most Jews, Mormons, followers of the Baháʼí Faith, Eastern Orthodox Christians, and Western Catholic (Latin Rite) Christians reside in the capital Yerevan, which has attracted a greater variety of peoples. Yerevan also has a small community of Muslims, including ethnic Kurds, Iranians, and temporary residents from the Middle East. Foreign missionary groups are active in the country.


title: Religion in Armenia

text: The Constitution as amended in 2005 provides for freedom of religion and the right to practice, choose, or change religious belief. It recognizes "the exclusive mission of the Armenian Church as a national church in the spiritual life, development of the national culture, and preservation of the national identity of the people of Armenia." The law places some restrictions on the religious freedom of religious groups other than the Armenian Church. The Law on Freedom of Conscience establishes the separation of church and state but it grants the Armenian Church official status as the national church.


title: Religion in Armenia

text: According to tradition, Christianity was first introduced to this area by the apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus in the 1st century AD. Armenia became the first country to establish Christianity as its state religion when, in an event traditionally dated to 301 AD, St. Gregory the Illuminator convinced Tiridates III, the king of Armenia, to convert to Christianity. Before this, the dominant religion was Armenian paganism, under the theological influence of Zoroastrianism.


title: Religion in Armenia

text: The Armenian Apostolic Church is the national church of the Armenian people. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christian institutions. And is "seen by many as the custodian of Armenian national identity". "Beyond its role as a religious institution, the Apostolic Church has traditionally been seen as the foundational core in the development of the Armenian national identity as God's uniquely chosen people."


title: Religion in Armenia

text: Hetanism (Հեթանոսություն, "Hetanosutyun") is a neo-pagan movement in Armenia. Adherents call themselves "Hetans" ("Hetanos" հեթանոս, the Old Armenian biblical term loaned from Greek ἐθνικός "gentile"). The movement traces its origins back to the work of the early-20th-century political philosopher and revolutionary Garegin Nzhdeh and his doctrine of "tseghakron" (rejuvenation through national religion). In 1991, it was institutionalized by the Armenologist Slak Kakosyan into the "Order of the Children of Ari" ("Arordineri Ukht"). The movement is strongly associated to Armenian nationalism. It finds some support from nationalist political parties of Armenia, particularly the Republican Party of Armenia and the Union of Armenian Aryans.


title: Religion in Armenia

text: The Catholic Church in Armenia is divided between Latin Rite parishes (subject to Apostolic Administration of the Caucasus) and Armenian Catholic Church's parishes. The 2011 census counted 13,996 Catholics.


title: Religion in Armenia

text: Since the end of the Soviet Union, American Protestant missionaries have been proselytising in the country. The 2011 census counted 29,280 Evangelicals (1% of the population) and 773 mainline Protestants.


title: Religion in Armenia

text: According to the Census of 2011, there are 7,587 adherents of Eastern Orthodoxy in Armenia, mainly Russians, Ukrainians, Georgians and Greeks. Russian Orthodox community is centered around Church of the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God in Yerevan, consecrated in 1912.


title: Religion in Armenia

text: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints claims approximately 3,000 adherents in Armenia at the end of 2011; the 2011 census found 241.


title: Religion in Armenia

text: About 1% of Armenia's population (23,374 as per the 2011 census), mostly ethnic Yazidis, an ethno-religious group living in the western part of the country, follow Yazidism, one of the Yazdan religions. Many Yazidis came to Armenia and Georgia during the 19th and early 20th centuries to escape religious persecution. Relations between Yazidis and Armenians are strong. The world's largest Yazidi temple is constructed in the small village of Aknalich.


title: Religion in Armenia

text: Currently there are an estimated 750 Jews in the country, a remnant of a once larger community. Most left Armenia for Israel after the collapse of the Soviet Union in pursuit of better living standards. Still, despite the small numbers, high intermarriage rate and relative isolation, a lot of enthusiasm exists to help the community meet its needs.


title: Religion in Armenia

text: Azerbaijanis and Kurds living in Armenia traditionally practised Islam, but most Azerbaijanis, who were the largest minority in the country, fled during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. In 2009, the Pew Research Center estimated that less than 0.1% of the population, or about 1,000 people, were Muslims.


title: Religion in Armenia

text: Throughout history, Armenians did not convert to Islam in large numbers despite long periods of Muslim rule. During the Arabic conquest, Islam came to the Armenians; however, very few Armenians converted to Islam, since Christians were not required to convert by Muslim law.


title: Religion in Armenia

text: There is, however, a minority of ethnic Armenian Muslims, known as Hamshenis, the vast majority of which live outside of Armenia mostly in Turkey and Russia.


title: Religion in Armenia

text: The Baháʼí Faith in Armenia begins with some involvements in the banishments and execution of the Báb, the Founder of Bábism, viewed by Baháʼís as a precursor religion. The same year of the execution of the Báb the religion was introduced into Armenia. During the period of Soviet policy of religious oppression, the Baháʼís in Armenia lost contact with the Baháʼís elsewhere. However, in 1963 communities were identified in Yerevan and Artez. Following Perestroika, the first Baháʼí Local Spiritual Assemblies of Armenia form in 1991 and Armenian Baháʼís elected their first National Spiritual Assembly in 1995. As of 2010, it was estimated that there were roughly 1,200 Baháʼís in Armenia.


title: The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking

text: The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking is the debut solo studio album by English singer and musician Roger Waters; it was released in 1984, the year before Waters announced his departure from Pink Floyd. The album was certified gold in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America in April 1995.


title: The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking

text: The concept was originally envisioned by Waters in 1977 and refined in the early 1980s. In its completed form, it rotates around a man's scattered thoughts during his midlife crisis. These are explored on a dream journey during which he takes a road trip through California, commits adultery with a hitchhiker he picks up along the way, attempts to reconcile with his wife by moving to the wilderness, and finally ends up alone but with greater insight into a common human compassion. Along the way he also faces other fears and paranoia.


title: The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking

text: The entire story is framed in real time as a fitful dream taking place in the early morning hours of 4:30:18 am to 5:12:32 am on an unspecified day. At the end of the dream, the man wakes up lonely and contrite and turns to his real wife for comfort, presumably having processed his crisis.


title: The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking

text: In July 1978, Waters presented the concepts and played demos of "The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking" as well as what was then titled "Bricks in the Wall", which became "The Wall", to his bandmates in the group Pink Floyd, asking them to decide which should be a group album, and which should be his solo album. After a long debate, they decided that they preferred the concept of "Bricks in the Wall", even though their manager at the time, Steve O'Rourke, thought that "Pros and Cons" was a better-sounding concept, and David Gilmour deemed "Pros and Cons" stronger musically.


title: The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking

text: "Bricks in the Wall", retitled "The Wall", became the next Pink Floyd album in 1979, and Waters shelved "Pros and Cons". In early 1983, Waters undertook the shelved project himself. It was recorded in three London studios between February and December 1983: Olympic Studios, Eel Pie Studios and Waters' own Billiard Room, where his demos were constructed. The album features conductor Michael Kamen, actor Jack Palance, saxophonist David Sanborn and guitarist Eric Clapton. Guitar player Tim Renwick said:


title: The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking

text: Track 7, 4.50 am (Go Fishing), includes the same refrain as "The Fletcher Memorial Home" from Pink Floyd's "The Final Cut": ""The Fletcher Memorial Home for incurable tyrants and kings"". This song also includes one of the car sounds, and the slightly changed chorus melody, from that album's "Your Possible Pasts".


title: The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking

text: "I played through some of the songs from the "Pros and Cons" album," Waters remarked in 1992, "and I was struck by how good they sounded. Looking back, that record dragged a little but, individually, some of the material was excellent."


title: The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking

text: The original album was released in 1984 on the traditional two-sided vinyl LP and cassette formats. In keeping with Waters' concept, there are five seconds missing between sides one and two to allow the listener to flip the record (or turn the cassette) in order to keep the second half starting at exactly 4:50 am as planned.


title: The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking

text: An unintended consequence of the album being released on CD a few years later was that this gap was lost due to continuous play, which moves the start of the second half back to 4:49:55am, and the start of the final track, 5:11am (The Moment of Clarity), back to 5:10:59am.


title: The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking

text: Further to this, Track 6 on the first side, 4:47 am (The Remains of Our Love), actually begins at 4:46:46am.


title: The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking

text: Gerald Scarfe, who had created the album artwork and some animation for Pink Floyd's "The Wall" album, created all the graphics and animation for the "Pros and Cons" album. Its cover prompted controversy for featuring a rear-view nude photograph of model and softcore porn actress Linzi Drew. Although it was originally released with the nudity intact, subsequent editions distributed by Columbia Records censored Drew's buttocks with a black box.


title: The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking

text: A film based on the concept was proposed, and in 1987 a press release for the "Radio K.A.O.S." album claimed a film adaptation of "Pros and Cons..." had been completed, though nothing has been heard of it since. The screenplay was written by BBC/Radio Times Drama Award winner Pete Ward, who used excerpts from Waters' songs/lyrics from 1967 to 1987 as background to his award-winning play, "Yesterday's Triumph", exploring the 20-year relationship of two close friends – one who attempts to fake mental illness to be with the other, who is an institutionalized 'catastrophic schizophrenic'. Ward was commissioned to expand the plot and characters in "The Pros and Cons" around the album's 42-minute real-time dream sequence based on Waters' own dreams.


title: The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking

text: A film was made in 1984 and 1985 which combined Gerald Scarfe's animations and Nicolas Roeg's live-action footage with slit-scan photography created by Peter Truckel at The Moving Picture Company. Also directed by Nicolas Roeg the film was projected on a backdrop behind the stage as the band played. Three promotional videos were also directed by Roeg. "The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking" features snippets of the live action material from the screen films interspersed with footage of "Shane" and other cowboy films. "Sexual Revolution" also featured screen film material interspersed with footage Waters singing the song and playing his bass. "Every Stranger's Eyes" is identical to the screen projection, except for the fact that footage of Waters is also interspersed here.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Jeffrey Robert Bagwell (born May 27, 1968) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and coach who spent his entire 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) playing career with the Houston Astros.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Originally a Boston Red Sox fourth-round selection from the University of Hartford in the 1989 amateur draft, Bagwell was traded to the Astros in 1990. Bagwell was named the National League (NL) Rookie of the Year in 1991 and won the NL Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) in 1994. Bagwell and longtime Astros second baseman Craig Biggio were known as the "Killer B's", and the team experienced consistent success during their careers; Houston finished in first or second place in the NL Central division in eleven of twelve seasons from 1994 to 2005. During that period, the Astros qualified for the playoffs six times, culminating in Bagwell's lone World Series appearance in 2005.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Bagwell hit 449 home runs for the Astros, the most in club history, and set numerous other franchise career and single-season records. He is a four-time MLB All-Star, a three-time Silver Slugger winner and a Gold Glove recipient. The only player in MLB history to have six consecutive seasons (1996–2001) with thirty home runs, 100 RBIs, 100 runs scored, and 100 walks, Bagwell is one of twelve players in history to hit 400 home runs and record an on-base percentage (OBP) of .400. He is the only first baseman with at least 400 home runs and 200 stolen bases. Overall, Bagwell batted over .300 six times, had a career OBP of .408 (39th all time), and had a slugging percentage of .540 (32nd all time). He was elected to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2005, and to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2017.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Born in Boston, Massachusetts, as the only son of Janice (née Hare) and Robert Bagwell, Jeff Bagwell and his family moved to Killingworth, Connecticut, when he was one year old. Much of Bagwell's family is from the Greater Boston area, including both his parents, and are avid fans of the Boston Red Sox. His favorite player, Carl Yastrzemski, was a longtime left fielder for the Red Sox. Robert, from Watertown, pitched college baseball at Northwestern University and as a semi-professional. Janice, a police officer, grew up in Newton and played softball in local Boston leagues until her 20s. Bagwell's parents divorced when he was 11. Precocious and demonstrating much athletic ability early in life, he played a wide variety of sports as a youth. Recalled Janice, Jeff "could throw a ball before he could walk. When he was six months old, we’d throw a ball to him and he would throw it back."


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Bagwell graduated from Xavier High School, a private all-male Catholic school located in Middletown, Connecticut. A versatile athlete, he excelled at soccer, setting the school goal-scoring mark, played shortstop, and lettered in basketball. In early 1989, Bagwell was honored by Xavier for his character and generosity. He also excelled in American Legion Baseball under coach Fred Tremalgia for Post 75 in Middletown and went on to be named the 2003 American Legion Baseball Graduate of the Year.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Bill Denehy head coach of the University of Hartford, offered Bagwell a scholarship in spite of baseball not being his primary sport. Bagwell's acceptance of Hartford's baseball scholarship was based at least in part on the lack of a professional soccer league in the United States at the time. At Hartford, Denehy switched Bagwell to third base. Over three seasons playing for Hartford, he batted .413 in 400 at bats, a school record, and, for a time, a New England collegiate record. He also was the school's career home run (31) and run batted in (126) leader when he was drafted, and a two-time Eastern College Athletic Conference player of the year.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: In 1987 and 1988, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Chatham A's of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and in 1988 was named the starting third baseman for the East Division in the league's annual all-star game.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: The Red Sox selected Jeff Bagwell in the fourth round of the 1989 Major League Baseball draft. Throughout his career, Barry Axelrod served as his agent. For his first professional assignment, the Red Sox appointed Bagwell to the Winter Haven Red Sox of the Florida State League in , where he batted .310 with two home runs. In , while playing for the AA New Britain Red Sox, Bagwell won the Eastern League Most Valuable Player Award. In 136 games with New Britain, he batted .333 with 160 hits, four home runs (HR), 61 runs batted in (RBI), 34 doubles, seven triples, 73 bases on balls (BB or walks), 57 strikeouts (SO), .422 on-base percentage (OBP), .457 slugging percentage (SLG) and .880 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS). He finished first in the league in hits and doubles, second in batting, OBP and OPS, fourth in walks, fifth in SLG, ninth in runs scored and tenth in RBI.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Late in the 1990 season, the Red Sox, who were in search of relief pitching to improve their chances of making the playoffs, contacted the Houston Astros about Larry Andersen. Stan Benjamin, who scouted the New England region for the Astros, recommended that they ask for Bagwell in return. The Astros initially hesitated owing to his sparse home run production, but Benjamin persuaded them, quipping that New Britain's Beehive Field was so large that "Babe Ruth couldn’t hit home runs in that ballpark." On August 30, 1990, the Red Sox took the Astros' offer. The trade is now considered one of the most one-sided trades in baseball history; in 2001, ESPN's readers named it the second-worst trade in sports history, behind only the Red Sox trading Ruth to the New York Yankees. Although Andersen pitched well down the stretch in 1990 — he allowed three runs in 22 innings — to help the Red Sox secure the American League East division title on the final day of the season, the Oakland Athletics swept them out of the American League Championship Series (ALCS). They then lost Andersen after the season when he was declared a "new-look" free agent due to the third collusion settlement.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: According to the Red Sox' then-general manager, Lou Gorman, the trade made sense at the time. Gorman spent the ensuing years defending the decision-making process that led up to the Bagwell trade. In his 2005 autobiography, "One Pitch from Glory", Gorman noted that Boston already had Wade Boggs at the major league level at third base, and had rated prospects Tim Naehring and Scott Cooper higher than Bagwell on the organization's depth chart. Bagwell had seen some time in the minors at first base, but he was blocked from that position by Mo Vaughn. Gorman pursued Andersen only after receiving assurances from MLB's player relations committee that Andersen would not be lost to the new-look free agency. Nevertheless, it is considered one of the most one-sided trades in baseball history. Not only did the Red Sox lose Andersen to free agency after one month, but neither Naehring nor Cooper played in MLB past 1997.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: The disproportionate results of the trade notwithstanding, Bagwell eventually became acquainted with Andersen and they formed a friendship. "I knew LA and I love him," Bagwell asserted. "He used to make fun of me when I was playing bad. He said, 'you’re making me look bad, you have to step it up.' Look up his numbers. He was pretty good at what he did."


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: In spite of the unexpected detour early in Bagwell's professional baseball career, he blossomed in Houston, becoming one of the most accomplished players in Astros franchise history. He spent his entire major league career in a Houston uniform and, along with teammate Craig Biggio in their 15 seasons playing together, were a prodigious offensive and defensive unit known as the "Killer B's", synonymous with the Astros throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s. During their 10 peak seasons from 1994 to 2003, they appeared in nine All-Star Games, won five Gold Gloves, ranked in the top five of the Most Valuable Player Award voting five times and averaged 226 runs scored. They totaled 689 home runs, 2,485 RBI and 3,083 runs scored while the Astros advanced to the postseason six times.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: With an exaggerated and unusual batting style, Bagwell waited for each pitch in a low crouch, with legs wide open and knees bent nearly 90 degrees, appearing as if he was sitting on an invisible bench. He stepped "back" with his front foot as he began his swing. Next, he would rise from his stance and rotate his hands with the bat forward into his powerful, uppercut swing. "That wide stance keeps him from over striding", Joe Torre observed, "which can be your biggest problem when you’re trying to hit for power." The low crouch also shrunk his strike zone, allowing him to walk more often. Standing 6 feet tall () and weighing , he did not present the image of an imposing, home run-hitting giant that would cause pitchers to be very careful when he batted after he began his major league career.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: The Astros invited Bagwell to major league camp in spring training of 1991. Bagwell, expecting for the club to assign him to their AAA affiliate Tucson, enthused them with his play. Because they, too, already had an established major leaguer at third base in Ken Caminiti, they approached Bagwell about shifting to first base, which he accepted. Having not previously played the position as a regular, Bagwell received a crash course, playing minor league games in the morning and Astros games in the afternoon until Opening Day. Observed "The Sporting News": "Rookie Jeff Bagwell never played first base before this spring, but the position is his to lose. It's up to his bat." Thus, Bagwell made the major league club without an assignment to AAA, making the uncommon jump from AA to the major leagues, and made his major league debut on Opening Day. On May 6, he hit the ninth-ever upper-deck home run at Three Rivers Stadium off Bob Kipper in a seventh-inning pinch hit appearance, estimated at . Bagwell hit .350 in September. He finished the year hitting .294 with 15 home runs and 82 RBI while leading the Astros in several offensive categories. He was named the 1991 National League (NL) Rookie of the Year, the first Astros player to win the award, "Baseball America"'s Rookie of the Year, "The Sporting News" Rookie of the Year and postseason All-Star and on the Topps' Rookie All-Star Team.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Bagwell's power hike piqued the curiosity of many baseball observers. In two minor league seasons from 1989 to 1990, he had managed six home runs in 932 at bats–a ratio of 155 at bats per home run (AB/HR). With 15 home runs in his first year in Houston, that average shrunk to 36.9. He also exhibited extraordinary plate discipline for a rookie: while ranking tenth in the league in walks with 75, his OBP placed fifth at .387. Of the power surge, commented Bagwell to hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo, "That's awesome", to which he reacted, "Awesome? We can get more out of you than that." By altering an approach to contact the pitch with topspin as he did when he arriving to Houston, Jaramillo taught Bagwell to hit with backspin, resulting in a soaring trajectory rather than nose diving. He also habituated Bagwell to manipulate the count, waiting for a pitch to drive instead of indiscriminately swinging at any pitch that appeared to be a strike. Accounted Bagwell of the newfound advantage, "I didn’t hit many home runs in the minor leagues, but when I hit one, when I got backspin on it, it went a long way."


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Although firmly established as the Astros' first baseman from Opening Day in 1991, Bagwell remarked years later that transitioning from third base was not automatic. First basemen approach fielding plays from their right side, which is opposite to playing third base. He recounted one conversation that occurred during an Astros pitching change in a game against St. Louis. Shortstop Ozzie Smith was on first and asked Bagwell, "How's it going?" Bagwell responded, "I'm really struggling with my backhand." Smith replied, "Well, here's what you do. You can't field the ball deep. You have to get out in front of it." Remarked Bagwell, "I was basically being given a lesson from Ozzie Smith at first base during a pitching change. It's pretty cool."


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: The next year, Bagwell hit .273, driving in 96 runs with 18 home runs. In 1993, the Astros improved to a third-place finish in the National League West division, and in mid-September, Bagwell was batting .320 with 20 home runs and 88 RBI. However, a pitch from the Philadelphia Phillies' Ben Rivera broke the fourth metacarpal bone in Bagwell's left hand, ending his season prematurely. It was the first of three successive seasons that ended early or was interrupted due to an incoming pitch breaking the same bone in that hand. His tendency to dip just before starting to swing made his hand more vulnerable to being hit by inside pitches. His .320 average was sixth in the NL. In February 1994, Bagwell and the Astros agreed to a one-year contract with a $2.4 million base salary (USD, $ million today).


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: The most productive season in Bagwell's professional career was the strike-shortened 1994 season which set several franchise records. On Opening Day, April 4, against the Montreal Expos, Bagwell hit the game-tying home run while going 3-for-6 as the Astros won in a 12-inning walk-off. For the month of April, he batted .360 with six home runs and added another six home runs in May. In June, he hit 13 home runs, establishing an Astros' franchise record for one month, while batting .394, 11 doubles, .455 OBP, .899 SLG, and 1.354 OPS. On June 24, he hit three home runs against the Los Angeles Dodgers at the Astrodome — two in the same inning — in a 16–4 rout, becoming the first Astro since Glenn Davis in 1990 to do so. He was the NL Player of the Week for consecutive weeks on June 19 and June 26 and the NL Player of the Month for June, his second career monthly award.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Selected to his first All-Star Game as a reserve, Bagwell had tied Kirby Puckett for the major league RBI lead at 81 going into the All-Star break, and batted .348 with 27 home runs and 74 runs scored. In the All-Star Game, Bagwell entered as a pinch hitter for starting pitcher Greg Maddux, singling off David Cone, and wound up collecting two hits in four at bats. The first player in the majors to reach 100 RBI on July 27, Bagwell homered off José Rijo in a 6–5 win over Cincinnati to give him 101 RBI in his first 101 games. In July, he tied a club record for RBI in any month with 29, which José Cruz and Jimmy Wynn shared. and hit .409 with 11 home runs, 20 walks and 1.384 OPS and collected his second consecutive Player of the Month award. He would hit another three home runs with six walks in nine August games before a pitch from Andy Benes fractured his left hand on August 10 and ended his season in the same manner the season before. Entering that game, Bagwell carried an 18-game hitting streak. Two days later, the strike ended the season for all the major leagues. His production accelerated in 26 games after the All-Star break, batting .432, .530 OBP, .916 SLG, 1.446 OPS, 10 doubles, 12 home runs, 34 RBI and 30 runs scored. The Astros finished one-half game out of first place in the inaugural season of the National League Central division, a product of MLB's division realignment.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Bagwell played in 110 games in the 1994 season, batting .368 with a .750 SLG, 1.201 OPS, 39 home runs, 116 RBI, 104 runs scored, 300 total bases and 213 adjusted OPS (OPS+) in 400 at bats. He led the major leagues in SLG, OPS+, RBI, and total bases, and the NL in runs scored and OPS, but fell short of winning the batting Triple Crown, finishing second for the batting title to Tony Gwynn, who, after batting .394, had the highest average in the major leagues since Ted Williams in 1941. Bagwell finished second in home runs to Matt Williams, who hit 43.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Bagwell set the record for the fewest plate appearances in a season reaching 100 of both runs scored and runs driven in and became the first National Leaguer to finish first or second in batting average, home runs, RBI, and runs scored since Willie Mays in . His .750 SLG at the time ranked as the seventh-best ever and was the highest by a National Leaguer since Rogers Hornsby in 1925 (.756). Further, at the time in National League history, the 213 OPS+ trailed only Hornsby's 1924 season (222 OPS+) for the second-highest ever. The 116 RBI in 110 games qualified for the 13th-highest ratio in history. He also hit 23 home runs in 56 games at the Astrodome, setting a record that stood for the stadium that was famed to be pitcher-friendly until the Astros moved out following the 1999 season. He set single-season club records for batting average, SLG, OPS, OPS+, AB/HR, and offensive win percentage (.858), and also for home runs, breaking Wynn's 27-year-old record, and RBI, breaking Bob Watson's record he had set 17 years earlier — later which he again both subsequently broke.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: The unanimous winner of the NL Most Valuable Player Award, he became the fourth player in National League history to win by this distinction, and the first Astros player to win the award. Bagwell also won his first Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, and Player of the Year Awards from "The Sporting News", Associated Press, "Baseball Digest", and "USA Today" "Baseball Weekly." "Crazy stuff happened that year", Bagwell recalled of his 1994 season. "Every pitch that I was looking for, I got. And when I got it, I didn't miss it." The Astros and Bagwell agreed to a four-year contract on November 23, 1994, worth $27.5 million (USD, $ million today) with the three option years. The average annual value of $6.875 million ($ million today) made him the fifth-highest paid player in the majors.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: The 1995 season was shortened by 18 games due to the players' strike that commenced the year before. Bagwell endured a slump through the month of May in which he batted .183. In June, his results started to improve as he batted .339 and followed up in July by driving in 31 runs. Both Bagwell and Derek Bell — included as a "Killer B" — registered 31 RBI that month, breaking the monthly club RBI record. Bagwell had tied the previous record one year earlier to the month. He hit his first two career home runs against Maddux of the Atlanta Braves within a week — on May 28 and June 3 — who ceded eight over the entire season. On July 28 against the Colorado Rockies, Bagwell's 10th-inning home run tied the score and two innings later he scored the winning run for a 5–4 final score.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: For the third time in three seasons, an incoming pitch broke a bone in Bagwell's left hand: on this occasion, it was on July 30 from the Padres' Brian Williams. Rather than change his successful style, Bagwell resorted to wearing a heavily padded protective batting glove. He returned in September to bat .313 with five home runs and 21 RBI as Houston finished one game behind the Rockies for the NL wild card. Bagwell missed a total of 30 games, appearing in 114 and batted .290 with 21 home runs. He won the 1995 ESPY Awards for Best Breakthrough Athlete and Outstanding Baseball Performer (later renamed "Best Major League Baseball Player"). After the season, he commenced a rigorous training program that enabled him to gain 20 pounds and increased his endurance for the long season. Activities of focus included concentrated weight lifting, change of diet, and the use of creatine and androstenedione.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: By the start of the 1996 season, Bagwell and Biggio had gained seniority — even if not necessarily by age — within the Astros clubhouse as well as status as superstars. According to journalist Dayn Perry, the earliest recorded reference to an Astros version of the nickname "Killer B's" encountered via a Google Search occurred that year. Bagwell enforced accountability and preparation which fostered camaraderie and incorporated all players as instrumental to the success of the team. Thus, the Astros raised their level of play, and a new string of playoff appearances followed. In time, all who entered the Astros gym were greeted with a banner that read: "Bagwell's Gym. Work Hard. Play Hard. Or Leave."


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: On May 7 against Philadelphia, Bagwell reached the 500th RBI of his career with two home runs and four RBI. By hitting his second upper-deck home run at Three Rivers Stadium on May 29 — it travelled — Bagwell joined longtime Pirate Willie Stargell as the only players to homer twice into the stadium's upper deck. For the month of May, he batted .360 with .740 SLG, 10 home runs, 31 RBI, 22 runs scored, and four stolen bases. He was named NL Player of the Month, his fourth career monthly award. On June 14, Bagwell tied a major league record with four doubles in one game against San Francisco. He played all 162 games that year, batting .315 with a 1.021 OPS, 31 home runs, 120 RBIs, 111 runs scored, and 135 walks. With 21 successful stolen bases in 28 attempts, it was his first season in the 20–20 club, that is, to steal 20 bases while hitting 20 home runs in the same season. Bagwell reached base 324 total times and in all but 11 games. He led the NL in doubles with 48 while earning his second All-Star selection and finishing ninth in the MVP voting.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Rumors had surfaced during the 1996 season that manager Terry Collins did not get along well with Bagwell and Biggio, largely contributing to his dismissal. The Astros hired team color commentator Larry Dierker after the season to replace him. According to his autobiography, "This Ain't Brain Surgery", Dierker was asked during the interview how he would handle the players. His response: "'Look, I'm tired of this Bagwell and Biggio s---,' I said. 'Bagwell and Biggio will not be a problem, believe me.' I now believe that this statement is the one that got me the job." The Astros won division titles in four of five seasons with Dierker as manager; however, in each instance, they did not advance past the first round of the playoffs, and 2001 was Dierker's last season as the club's manager.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: The 1,000th hit of Bagwell's career was a home run on May 20, 1997, off Calvin Maduro, one of his two that game, in a 9–5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. He was selected to the play in the All-Star Game. Exhibiting above-average speed and baserunning skills for a first baseman, Bagwell became the first full-time first baseman to join the 30–30 club, capping the 1997 season with 31 steals in 41 attempts. The only other first baseman to accomplish the 30–30 club is Joe Carter. Bagwell batted .286 and scored 109 runs. He finished second in the league with both 43 home runs and 135 RBI — the RBI total was a career high — and was third in the MVP balloting. He made the playoffs for the first time in 1997 when the Astros won the National League Central division, the club's first appearance in 11 years. The Astros faced the Atlanta Braves in the National League Division Series (NLDS), who swept them in three games. Bagwell, Biggio and Bell combined for two hits in 37 at bats.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: In 1998, Bagwell informed a "Houston Chronicle" reporter that he was using androstenedione (commonly referred to as "andro"), which at the time the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classified it as a nutritional dietary supplement, finding it benign and authorized for non-medicinal purposes. It was considered a "weak" androgen steroid hormone and allegedly in widespread use around the sport at the time. Bagwell hit his first career grand slam while tying a career-high six RBI against Cincinnati on September 8 in a 13–7 victory. It was his 218th career home run, making his streak the then-longest among active players without a grand slam.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Bagwell finished the 1998 season batting .304 with 34 home runs, 111 RBI, 124 runs scored, 19 stolen bases, 109 walks, .424 OBP, .557 SLG, .981 OPS. He ranked third in the league in runs scored and walks, fifth in OPS+, sixth in OBP, and eighth in OPS. The Astros won a franchise-best 102 games while winning the NL Central division title, leading the league in runs scored. Their season ended by defeat to the San Diego Padres in the NLDS, including losing two starts against Kevin Brown — both by a 2–1 score. Bagwell, Bell, and Biggio combined for six hits in 51 at bats in this series.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: The high school which ruminated Bagwell, Xavier, officially retired his uniform number 9 in a commemoration on January 30, 1999. As the "Killer B's" brand gained increased national attention, journalist Dayn Perry jocosely noted that in 1999 the Astros, "in pursuit of arcane history, used eight players whose last names began with 'B'", including Bagwell, Paul Bako, Glen Barker, Bell, Sean Bergman, Lance Berkman, Biggio, and Tim Bogar. On April 21, Bagwell hit three home runs in a 10–3 win against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, his second career three-home run game. The second home run allowed him to overtake Wynn as the Astros' all-time home run leader at 224 and he tied a career-high with six RBI in one game. Bagwell produced another three-home run game on June 9 against the Chicago White Sox that was a grand slam short of the "home run cycle", accounted with a solo home run, a three-run home run, and a two-run home run, respectively. The two three-home run games made him the only player to accomplish this feat at two different stadiums in Chicago in the same season.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Nominated to his fourth career All-Star Game, Bagwell to that point in the season had scored or driven in 28.6% of the Astros' runs, the highest portion of a team's offense for which any one player in MLB accounted. He was stationed first in the NL in walks (83), runs scored (81) and OBP (.464), second in home runs (28), RBI (78) and SLG (.648) and stole 17 bases while Houston tenanted percentage points behind Cincinnati for first in the division. On August 20, 1999, he walked a major-league record six times in a 16-inning battle against the Florida Marlins.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Bagwell's aggregate output in 1999 included leading the major leagues in runs scored (143), bases on balls (149), and games played (162). He also batted .304, hit 42 home runs, 126 RBI, and .591 SLG and stole 30 bases, giving him his second 30–30 season. Further, he paired with Barry Bonds as the only major leaguers to obtain the 40–30 mark (40 home runs and 30 stolen bases) twice. The Astros engulfed the Reds to clinch the NL Central division title in 1999, their third consecutive. They faced Atlanta in an NLDS rematch of two years prior but were defeated in four games. The NL MVP balloting materialized with Bagwell scaled second to the Braves' Chipper Jones. Bagwell was honored with the third Silver Slugger Award of his career.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: In a presentation of rankings of active major leaguers prior to the 2000 season, "Sports Illustrated" slotted Bagwell second among position players behind Ken Griffey Jr., and "The Sporting News" placed him sixth among all players, including pitchers. Bagwell christened the team's 2000 move to Enron Field (later renamed Minute Maid Park) with the stadium's first-ever hit and first two runs driven in, in a 6–5 exhibition victory over the New York Yankees on March 30. His two-run, ninth-inning home run against Trevor Hoffman in San Diego on June 10 won the contest for Houston, 7–6, and stopped a 10-game road losing streak. On August 14 in Philadelphia, he homered twice and tied a club record with seven RBI in a 14–7 win, shared by Rafael Ramírez and Pete Incaviglia. Five days later against Milwaukee, Bagwell again homered twice for the 299th and 300th of his career; the second home run broke an eighth-inning tie to give Houston a 10–8 win. He joined Hank Aaron, Joe DiMaggio, Frank Robinson and Ted Williams as the fifth player in major league history to record 300 home runs, 1,000 RBI and 1,000 runs scored in his first ten seasons.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Bagwell finished the 2000 season with a career-high 47 home runs, .310 average, .424 OBP, .615 SLG — the second-best mark of his career — for a 152 OPS+. His 152 runs scored was the highest total in a season since Lou Gehrig in 1936, and his 295 runs scored from 1999 to 2000 set a National League two-season record. His pair of cleats from the 2000 season were turned in for display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. The following December, Bagwell and the Astros agreed to a five-year, $85 million (USD, $ million today) contract extension. With an average annual value of $17 million, he became the third-highest paid player in the sport at the time. By 2005, he was the seventh-highest paid player in the sport, receiving $18 million in the fourth year of the deal.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: With a triple on May 7, 2001, against Chicago, Bagwell achieved the 700th extra base hit of his career. For the second time in his career, he reached seven RBI in a game — again tying a club record — at Kansas City on July 7. Over four successive games from July 8–13, Bagwell homered and totaled five home runs in that span. In a contest at Enron Field against the St. Louis Cardinals on July 18, he hit for the cycle. He went 4-for-5 with five RBI as the Astros won, 17–11. He was the NL Player of the Month that July after batting .333 with nine home runs, and breaking his own club record with 36 RBI in a month, exceeding the 34 RBI in the previous August.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: While hitting his 32nd home run on August 19, 2001, against Pittsburgh, Bagwell collected his 100th RBI. It was the sixth consecutive season he reached at least 30 home runs and 100 RBI, making him the eighth player in MLB history to achieve such a streak, and the only Houston player to do so. Five days later, also against Pittsburgh, he scored his 100th run, joining Jimmie Foxx, Lou Gehrig, and Babe Ruth as the only players in MLB history with six consecutive seasons of 30 homers, 100 RBI and 100 runs scored. On September 30 at Chicago, Bagwell walked for his 100th of the season, thus making him the only player in MLB history to register six consecutive seasons of at least 30 home runs, 100 RBI, 100 runs scored, and 100 walks. The Astros won the NL Central division title and faced the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS. In spite of Bagwell reaching base in eight of 12 plate appearances by single or by walk, he did not score any runs, and the Braves swept the Astros in three games.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Playing with sound health until 2001, an explosive pain started to progress in his left shoulder during the season. Bagwell underwent surgery to remove bone spurs and to reconstruct a partially torn labrum on October 26, 2001. He had also began to develop arthritis in his right shoulder, which gradually worsened and diminished his playing ability.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: For the first three months of the 2002 season, Bagwell labored greatly with throwing; he still had not fully recovered from the shoulder surgery of the previous offseason. Even after it improved, it was noticeably less strong than two years prior. In July, he batted .349 with six home runs and 23 RBI. Before a game against the San Diego Padres on August 27, he met with an 11-year-old bone cancer patient named Stephen Rael who asked him to hit a home run for him. Bagwell replied, "I'm going to try, but I'm not Babe Ruth." In the fifth inning, he hit a pitch from Mike Bynum over the left field wall and pointed to the child in the stands as he rounded third base. He later said, "I hit the home run, and he felt it was for him. I'm glad for that. It made it special." From August 10–24, Bagwell produced a season-high 15-game hitting streak, marking the 12th consecutive season with at least one double-digit hit streak, a club record, and second to Roberto Alomar with 14 among all then-active players. In September, he batted .343 with 11 multiple-hit games.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: During a 3–2 loss to the Montreal Expos on April 26, 2003, Bagwell's infield single gave him 2,000 hits for his career, joining Biggio as the only Astro to achieve this mark. Bagwell collected the assist for the final out of a combined no-hitter and 8–0 win over the Yankees on June 11. He scooped a ground ball batted from Hideki Matsui and relayed it to Billy Wagner covering first base, the final of a record six pitchers participating in the feat. Playing the Cincinnati Reds on July 20, 2003, Bagwell hit two home runs for the 400th of his career off Danny Graves, becoming the 35th player in MLB history to do so. ESPN's "The List" ranked Bagwell as the second-most underrated athlete of the top four North American professional sports leagues in August 2003, and Biggio third.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: When he hit his sixth career grand slam against Milwaukee on April 9, 2004, Bagwell tied a club record. He recorded his 200th career stolen base on August 30 against Cincinnati to become the tenth player in MLB history to reach that plateau while hitting 400 home runs. On September 18, 2004, Bagwell collected his 1,500th career RBI with a single in the third inning against the Brewers. Two innings later, he homered for his 1,500th run scored, becoming just the 29th player in MLB history and the first Astro to reach both milestones. Bagwell finished with 27 home runs, stopping a streak of eight consecutive seasons with at least 30, but extending a streak of 12 with at least 20.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: The Astros faced the Braves in the playoffs for the fourth time in Bagwell's career in the 2004 NLDS. In Game 3, on October 7, he hit his first career postseason home run off Mike Hampton in the first inning in a 4–2 extra-inning loss. After three failed attempts to advance past the first round of the playoffs earlier in Bagwell's career — all to the Braves (1997, 1999, and 2001) — and seven overall in 43 years of franchise history, the Astros defeated the Braves for their first-ever playoff series win. The quartet dubbed the "Killer B's" — this time with the additions of Carlos Beltrán and Lance Berkman — ignited the Astros' offense, batting .395 (34-for-86) with eight home runs, 21 RBI and 24 runs scored. The Astros scored an NLDS-record 36 runs in all and Bagwell batted .318 with two home runs and five RBI. They advanced to Bagwell's first National League Championship Series (NLCS) to face the Cardinals. St. Louis defeated Houston in seven games to advance to the World Series.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: In February 2005, Bagwell and Biggio were jointly inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. Shortly after the 2005 season began, the chronic arthritic condition in his shoulder that had begun in 2001 finally sidelined him, rendering him inactive for three-quarters of the season. The former Gold Glove winner was now a defensive liability with a severely limited throwing arm; he had to "push" the ball instead of throwing it. Teams began taking advantage of his defensive weakness. Once possessing great ability to throw out the lead runner at third base ahead on bunt plays, Bagwell found it difficult to practice with the other infielders between innings.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Concurrently, Bagwell's offensive production suffered, and pressure mounted on Astros management to bench the perennial All-Star; the club had started the season with a 15–30 won–loss record. He hit his last major league home run against Maddux on April 29, tying him for the most against any pitcher with seven. Bagwell continued to play through the pain until, after going 0-for-5 in a loss to the Pirates on May 4, it became so unbearable that he asked manager Phil Garner to remove him from the lineup the following day. He had hit just .250 with three home runs in 88 at-bats. The Astros placed him on the disabled list a few days later, and shoulder surgery followed.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: The Astros dramatically improved after their poor start to finish 74–43 over their final 117 games and capture the NL wild card. Rendered unable to throw from his surgery, Bagwell was activated in September as a pinch hitter, and he played a symbolic role in the successful drive to capture their first-ever National League pennant and World Series appearance. Moreover, the Astros secured the pennant against their division rival St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS, reversing the outcome from the year prior against the same club.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: After having played 4,714 games and their entire major league careers together in Houston, Bagwell and Biggio appeared in their first World Series in 2005. Bagwell was the Astros' designated hitter in the first two games against the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field, and was a pinch hitter in the two games played in Houston at Minute Maid Park. His last official major league plate appearance was in the seventh inning of Game 4, when he pinch-hit for pitcher Brandon Backe and grounded out. The White Sox won this contest to sweep the Astros and secure the championship. The White Sox outscored the Astros by a combined six runs, the lowest scoring differential in World Series history.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Together with Biggio, Bagwell received "Baseball America"'s Lifetime Achievement Award after the 2005 season.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: On January 23, 2006, the Astros indicated that they would file a claim on an insurance policy on Bagwell's health to collect approximately $15.6 million of the $17 million in salary owed to him for the 2006 season. Days earlier, orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews had performed a physical examination on Bagwell and determined that he had become "completely disabled" and was unable to play baseball again. Because of the language of the policy, the Astros could not release him without losing their settlement, nor could he take the field. The decision effectively eliminated his chances of playing again in the Major Leagues. On March 28, Cigna rejected the claim, contending that because Bagwell had played during 2005 World Series he could not have become more disabled during the period of baseball inactivity characteristic of the offseason.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Nonetheless, Bagwell still reported to spring training hoping he could contribute in some way during the upcoming 2006 campaign, and to test the injured shoulder. His mere presence in camp put the Astros' insurance claim into further question, creating an awkward situation between the player and the team. He appeared in several games, batting .219 with two RBI. He never had to make any difficult throws that would place notable stress on his shoulder, as the other infielders shifted toward him. As expected, the Astros put him on the 15-day disabled list in late March with bone spurs in the shoulder. Bagwell disclosed that he was only in good enough condition to play every several days, rather than every day. He was eventually paid the full amount of his contract. The Astros and the insurance company settled the claim in a confidential arrangement the same day he announced his retirement.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: The Astros declined to pick up Bagwell's $18 million club option for 2007, instead buying it out for $7 million. He filed for free agency in November 2006 but announced his retirement one month later. Owner Drayton McLane and general manager Tim Purpura stated that he would remain in player development department of the Astros organization, as one of the assistants to the general manager.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Bagwell made his first public appearance at Minute Maid Park since the end of his career on June 28, 2007. Former teammate and long-time friend Biggio had just logged his 3,000th career hit in the seventh inning against the Colorado Rockies. Bagwell, who was in the dugout, emerged to congratulate him. The Astros fans, who had momentarily quieted after cheering Biggio for his achievement, erupted into cheers again the moment Biggio dragged Bagwell onto the playing field and to the first-base line. "The thing with Baggy is that he and I worked so hard here for this city and for this organization," Biggio remarked. "We made so many sacrifices as far as playing the game and giving your body to a city, a team." Together, they bowed to the crowd as Bagwell raised Biggio's arm, and returned to the dugout. Biggio was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: The Houston Astros officially retired Bagwell's jersey number 5 on August 26, 2007, prior to the start of a game versus the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was the eighth player in Astros history to have his number retired. Two of Bagwell's closest friends and former teammates, Biggio and Brad Ausmus, spoke on his behalf. Said Ausmus, "He was the quintessential teammate. He was a superstar who always put the team before himself. And between him and Bidge (Biggio), they always shouldered the blame we struggled and tried to deflect the credit when we won." Yastrzemski, Bagwell's childhood hero, delivered a special message: "Congratulations, Jeff, on your number being retired. I begged the Red Sox not to trade you when you were in the minors with us. Boston's loss was Houston's gain. See you in Cooperstown." Three first bases were used in the game, each embossed with a commemorative insignia and inscription, "No. 5, Jeff Bagwell jersey retirement, Aug. 26, 2007." One was given to Bagwell and the other two were auctioned to raise funds on behalf of the Astros in Action Foundation.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Bagwell, along with Craig Biggio were on hand to witness the Astros win their first-ever World Series championship at Dodger Stadium on November 1, 2017. Both were elated at their franchise's first championship with Bagwell saying, "I'm ecstatic. They're great kids, they play hard, they never gave up. To see them win, the celebration, excitement, relief...the city of Houston, I'm sure, is going crazy right now. I couldn't be more proud of the guys that represent the Houston Astros right now." Both Bagwell and Biggio received World Series rings from the Astros during the World Series ring ceremony before an April 3, 2018 game against the Baltimore Orioles.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: As part of a personal services contract Bagwell signed with the Astros, he served as a coach in spring training of 2007.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: On July 11, 2010, the Astros hired Bagwell to be their , replacing Sean Berry. At the time of the switch, the Astros had the second-worst average (.237) in the majors and the worst OBP (.295). At the end of the season, the team marginally improved, but was still last in the league in OBP (.303) and SLG (.362) and Bagwell announced he would not return as hitting coach.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: After a five-year gap in contact with the Astros organization, Bagwell accepted a formal invitation from manager A. J. Hinch to be a guest instructor in spring training of 2015.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Bagwell was eligible for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame for the first time in 2011. Speculation abounded that some baseball writers initially refrained from voting for Bagwell on the premise that he used performance-enhancing drugs, since most of his playing career took place during what is commonly referred to as "the steroid era." In spite of the speculation, as of 2016, no concrete evidence has surfaced linking him to the use of performance-enhancing drugs. However, one report indicates that he disclosed use of androstenedione to a "Houston Chronicle" reporter in 1998. At that time, neither the FDA nor MLB had banned its use. Bagwell has not been connected with any of the 104 positive samples in the 2003 survey tests that were leaked. Bagwell was not among the 89 players named in the "Mitchell Report" released in 2007.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Longtime Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox said the following about Bagwell: "Jeff Bagwell was [in Houston] for so long and starred every year. For me a guy that dominated like that for one team, even in the league stats through the years. His are up there with anybody's. I would put him in right away. So he would get my vote on the first ballot." Still, in spite of the speculation that Bagwell used performance-enhancing drugs, "San Francisco Chronicle" sportswriter Bruce Jenkins opined that Bagwell did not have the credentials to be in the Hall of Fame. In July 2015, he acknowledged "that many are suspicious of Bagwell—without proof, as you say. I've always voted for the best players — Bonds, McGwire, Clemens, etc. — so that's not a factor for me. I always found Bagwell just a bit short of Hall of Fame material."


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: In 2011, Bagwell received 242 votes, or 41.7% of total ballots cast; the threshold for entry is 75%. In his second year on the ballot, he received 321 votes, or 56.0% of the ballots cast. In 2016, he received his highest percentage of the vote to that time, 71.6%. On January 18, 2017, Bagwell was voted into the Hall of Fame with 86.2% of the vote in his seventh year of eligibility. He was inducted on July 30, 2017.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Per Baseball-Reference.com, Bagwell's 79.6 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) ranks sixth-most all-time among first basemen, trailing only Lou Gehrig, Albert Pujols, Jimmie Foxx, Cap Anson, and Roger Connor. He spent the first nine seasons of his career (1991–99) playing home games at the Astrodome, notorious for its reputation as the toughest park in which to hit when baseball was still played there. However, during those nine years, his production at home was nearly identical to his production on the road. In that same period of time, his 160 OPS+ was fourth behind Bonds, McGwire, and Frank Thomas; his 56.7 WAR was third behind Bonds and Ken Griffey Jr. From 1994 to 2000, a span including his age-26 through age-32 seasons, he averaged 41 home runs and 41 doubles per 162 games while batting .309, .433 OBP, and .593 SLG for a 167 OPS+.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Over his career, Bagwell batted at least .300 six times, amassed a 1.000 OPS five times, collected at least 30 home runs eight times, 100 RBI eight times, 100 runs scored nine times, and 100 walks seven times. He is the only player in history to achieve six consecutive seasons (1996–2001) with each of 30 home runs, 100 RBI, 100 runs scored, and 100 walks. Bagwell had seven seasons with 30 home runs and 100 walks; the only players with more are Gehrig, Ruth, Williams, Jim Thome, and Thomas.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Bagwell is one of 12 players in MLB history to hit at 400 home runs and attain a career on-base percentage of at least .400. The only National League first baseman to reach the 30–30 club, he is the only first baseman in history to do it twice. He is also one of only two players in history to have two 40-30 seasons (Barry Bonds being the other). Bagwell is also the only first baseman to reach both 400 home runs and 200 stolen bases. He is just one of 21 players in history to win both a Rookie of the Year Award and an MVP. His 1,529 RBI during the span of his playing career ranked second in the Majors and first among right-handed hitters. He was in the top 10 in the MVP voting five times. From 1994 to 2003, he led all first basemen in stolen bases, doubles, hits, runs, walks, and extra-base hits, was second in games and RBI, and was third in home runs. He is the Astros' all-time leader in home runs and RBI and is the first Astro to win an MVP.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: In addition to stealing over 200 bases in his career, Bagwell contributed significantly around the field as a whole. During one series against Pittsburgh in 1994, the Pirates shifted while he batted, and Bagwell responded with seven opposite-field hits. A standout defender at first base, he won the 1994 Gold Glove award. Remarked "The Sporting News", "he's an extraordinary fielder who excels at charging bunts and throwing runners out at second and third. Although he has average speed, he's one of the game's smartest baserunners. ..." From 1999 to 2000, his 295 runs scored led the major leagues and set a National League two-season record.


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Since his playing career ended, Bagwell has spent much of his time with his family while sporadically taking coaching and special assignment positions for the Astros. He is married to Rachel Bagwell, his third wife, with whom he has five children in a blended family. Rachel had three children prior to meeting Jeff. Before his marriage to Rachel, Jeff had two daughters, Blake and Bryce. Bagwell married his first wife, model Shaune Bagwell (née Stauffer), in 1992. He later married Ericka Bagwell, with whom he had his two daughters. Rachel Bagwell is the widow of Greater Houston-area hand surgeon Dr. Michael Brown, the owner and founder of Brown Hand Center, who committed suicide after Rachel left him for Jeff. .


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: In spite of his professional success, Bagwell has stated that he "doesn't enjoy too much of the spotlight" that follows. While giving a tribute to him during the retirement ceremony of his uniform number, longtime friend and former teammate Brad Ausmus noted several little-known facts. "He liked soccer as much as ... baseball" while growing up in Connecticut. He hit three fewer home runs than his boyhood idol, Carl Yastrzemski — 452 to 449. "His baseball card says he's six feet tall. He's closer to 5' 10"." Both Bagwell and Ausmus hit 32 triples in their careers. After his playing career, Bagwell was seen with significantly longer hair. Remarked Ausmus, "I want to confirm he does not have hair extensions."


title: Jeff Bagwell

text: Darryl Kile, a former teammate with the Astros, died of a heart attack on June 22, 2002, while an active player for the Cardinals, before a game against the Cubs. The Darryl Kile Good Guy Award was established in his honor, annually for one player on both the Cardinals and the Astros. Bagwell was the first recipient for the Astros in 2003. Ken Caminiti, another former teammate of Bagwell's, died on October 10, 2004. Bagwell delivered a eulogy at his funeral.


title: Shauna Macdonald (Scottish actress)

text: Shauna Macdonald (born 26 April 1981) is a Scottish actress. She began her career starring in "The Debt Collector" (1999). She then had her breakthrough starring as Sam Buxton in the television series "Spooks" (2003–2004). After departing the series, she starred as Sarah Carter in the horror film "The Descent" (2005), the role for which she is best known. She gained widespread recognition and praise for her performance, and was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Actress. The film established Macdonald as a scream queen. She reprised her role in its sequel "The Descent Part 2" (2009).


title: Shauna Macdonald (Scottish actress)

text: Macdonald has continued having starring roles in horror films, portraying Adelaide in "Mutant Chronicles" (2008), Kate in "Howl" (2015), Dana in "Nails" (2017), and Dr. Elle Chrysler in "White Chamber" (2018), for which she won the Scottish BAFTA Award for Best Actress. She is also known for her roles as Carole Robertson in the film "Filth" (2013), Agnes Muncie in the television series "In Plain Sight" (2016), a pilot in "" (2017), and as psychiatrist Dr. Wallace in the critically acclaimed miniseries "The Cry" (2018). She is the voice of Professor Squawkencluck in the 2015 revival of the 80s animated television series "Danger Mouse" (2015–present).


title: Shauna Macdonald (Scottish actress)

text: Macdonald is the co-artistic director of Edinburgh Youth Theatre in Bellfield and has been since 2014. She also teaches public speaking classes, which she teaches through her own company called If In Doubt Shout.


title: Shauna Macdonald (Scottish actress)

text: Shauna Macdonald was born in Malaysia while her father was working in the country. At the age of three, she moved back to her family's native Edinburgh in Scotland. As a child, Macdonald was very shy and had a lisp and went to speech therapy. Her mother made her join a choir group that did musical theatre. Her first role was when she was four years old, portraying a fairy in a church hall in Portobello. She attended Towerbank Primary School in Portobello.


title: Shauna Macdonald (Scottish actress)

text: At the age of 12, Macdonald joined the Brunton Youth Theatre in Musselburgh and then the Paisley Youth Theatre in Paisley. It was here that she met and became friends with fellow Scottish actor James McAvoy. At 14, Macdonald landed the lead role in the theatre's production called "Earth Crack" where she starred alongside singer and actor David Sneddon and McAvoy. After working as a cleaner for the brother of Ann Coulter, a Scottish talent agent, Coulter signed with Macdonald as her agent. Macdonald attended Portobello High School where she participated in the school plays. After graduating, she studied acting at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, and was two years below James McAvoy. She later went on to co-star with McAvoy in a film and he is a patron of the Edinburgh Youth Theatre, which Macdonald runs.


title: Shauna Macdonald (Scottish actress)

text: At the age of 17, Macdonald was cast in and then made her screen debut in the film "The Debt Collector" (1999), opposite Billy Connolly. While in her second year of university she landed a starring role in "The Rocket Post" (2004), alongside Kevin McKidd, but the film would take five years after filming to release. In 2000 she made her professional theatre debut in a small role as a waitress in "Pal Joey" at the Citizens Theatre. She next made appearances in the films "Daybreak" (2000) and "Late Night Shopping" (2001) and guest starred in the series "" (2000) and "Taggart" (2002). In 2002 she also appeared in the play "Victory" at the Royal Lyceum Theatre.


title: Shauna Macdonald (Scottish actress)

text: She first gained some recognition for her main role as Sam Buxton in the television series "Spooks" (2003–2004). During this time she starred as Catherine in "A View From A Bridge" (2003) in a co-production of both the Birmingham Repertory Theatre and West Yorkshire Playhouse. She left "Spooks" after feeling dissatisfied with how her character was developing.


title: Shauna Macdonald (Scottish actress)

text: She gained further recognition and critical praise after starring as the lead role Sarah Carter in the horror film "The Descent" (2005). The film's reception was largely positive from critics and the public alike, appeared on several top ten film lists in 2006, and was a box office success, grossing $57.1 million against a £3.5 million budget. Macdonald's performance in particular was widely praised and she was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Actress and the Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Chick You Don't Wanna Mess With. The film also established Macdonald as a modern scream queen. "The Descent" opened in cinemas in the United Kingdom on 8 July 2005. It premiered in the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and released on 4 August 2006 in the United States.


title: Shauna Macdonald (Scottish actress)

text: In August 2006 Macdonald appeared in the play "Realism" at the National Theatre of Scotland. The next year she starred as Rachael in the film "Jetsam" (2007) and appeared in the television film "Wedding Belles" (2007)"." Thereafter she starred as Adelaide in the sci-fi horror film "Mutant Chronicles" (2008)"." Macdonald reprised her role as Sarah Carter in the sequel "The Descent Part 2" (2009). Unlike the first film, the sequel received generally mixed to negative reviews. In 2011 Macdonald starred as Helen in the film "The Hike" and returned to the Royal Lyceum Theatre to star as the title character in "Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off" (2011). From then she continued making various appearances on radio, television, in film, and theatre. Most notably she returned to the Citizens Theatre to star as Regan in "King Lear" (2012); in May she starred alongside David Thewlis in the short film "Separate We Come, Separate We Go" (2012), directed by Bonnie Wright; and in August that year starred as the lead role in "Born to Run" (2012) at the Traverse Theatre. Her performance in the latter was widely acclaimed.


title: Shauna Macdonald (Scottish actress)

text: The next year Macdonald received recognition for starring opposite her friend and former classmate, James McAvoy, as his character's wife, Carole Robertson, in the film "Filth" (2013). In 2015 Macdonald began voicing the role of Professor Squawkencluck in the animated television series "Danger Mouse" (2015–present), and returned to the horror genre with the film "Howl" (2015). In 2016 Macdonald had starring roles as Agnes Muncie in the series "In Plain Sight", and as Jodie, a veteran struggling with posttraumatic stress disorder, in the short film "Soldier Bee". For her performance in the latter she won the award for Best Actress in an International Short at the Mumbai International Film Festival and was nominated for Best Actress at the Winter Film Awards. She also starred alongside Jeremy Irons and Olga Kurylenko in "The Correspondence" (2016).


title: Shauna Macdonald (Scottish actress)

text: In 2017, Macdonald returned to the horror genre, starring in the film "Nails" and had a small role as a pilot in "" (2017). In 2018 she had a main role as psychiatrist Dr. Wallace in the critically acclaimed miniseries "The Cry" and starred as Dr. Elle Chrysler in the sci-fi film "White Chamber" (2018), which premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. For her performance, she won the Scottish BAFTA Award for Best Actress. In 2019 she appeared alongside Laura Harrier in the film "Balance, Not Symmetry" as Catherine, and had a recurring role as Georgie, the estranged daughter of James Cosmo's character, in the series "Hold the Sunset" (2019).


title: Shauna Macdonald (Scottish actress)

text: From 2019 to early 2020, Macdonald starred as Libby in "Mouthpiece" at the Traverse Theatre. Macdonald's performance was acclaimed and she won the Stage Edinburgh Award. Macdonald later guest starred in the series "Liar" (2020) and "The Nest" (2020), and starred in the short film "Consumed" (2020).


title: Shauna Macdonald (Scottish actress)

text: Macdonald is married to Scottish actor Cal MacAninch, who she met after relocating to London following graduating from college. They have three daughters together and live in Portobello. She has been the co-artistic director of Edinburgh Youth Theatre in Bellfield since 2014. Macdonald also teaches public speaking classes with her own company called If In Doubt Shout.


title: Allyce Beasley

text: Allyce Beasley ( Tannenberg) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as rhyming, love-struck receptionist Agnes DiPesto in the television series "Moonlighting". From 2001 to 2007, she was the announcer on Playhouse Disney, a morning lineup of programming for toddlers on Disney Channel. She appeared briefly as a guidance counselor in the comedy film "Legally Blonde" and played Coach's daughter, Lisa Pantusso, on "Cheers". She also announced the safety video during The Simpsons Ride at Universal Studios Hollywood and Florida.


title: Allyce Beasley

text: Beasley was born in Brooklyn, New York as Allyce Tannenberg, the daughter of Marvin, a magazine cartoonist, and Harriet Tannenberg, who worked as a bookkeeper. Beasley is Jewish. She and her family moved frequently during her childhood, living in Philadelphia, Long Island and New York City, before settling in the latter location.


title: Allyce Beasley

text: She studied philosophy at the State University of New York, aspiring to be a poet. However, Beasley developed an interest in acting and soon shifted her focus to theater. She dropped out of college and began acting in local theater productions in New Mexico. Upon returning to New York, Beasley took drama classes under Lee Strasberg during the day while working nights as a waitress to make ends meet. Her professional surname was chosen after football player Beasley Reece. She moved to Los Angeles, California in 1982.


title: Allyce Beasley

text: Early in her career, Beasley appeared as Coach Pantusso's daughter on "Cheers" and played the role of Latka Gravas' one night stand on sitcom "Taxi". She also made guest appearances on crime drama "Remington Steele" and sitcom "ALF".


title: Allyce Beasley

text: In 1985, she landed the role of receptionist Agnes DiPesto on "Moonlighting", starring opposite Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis. Beasley claims to have auditioned for the role multiple times before getting the part. For her work on "Moonlighting", Beasley received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1986 and 1987. Beasley continued playing the character until the series ended in 1989.


title: Allyce Beasley

text: Following the end of "Moonlighting", Beasley was often typecast in roles similar to Agnes, which she found creatively frustrating. She was a friend of Susan Dey's character in television movie "Lies and Lullabies" and acted in the 1993 miniseries "The Tommyknockers", based off the novel by Stephen King. Beasley started appearing in films during the 1990s, having roles in "Dream with the Fishes" (1997) and "Stuart Little" (1999).


title: Allyce Beasley

text: She guest starred in one episode of "Joan of Arcadia" as Cat Woman God. On "Bored to Death", she played the role of Jonathan Ames (Jason Schwartzman)'s mother Florence and appeared on the YouTube Premium series "Champaign ILL".


title: Allyce Beasley

text: Beasley has also worked as a voice actress. Her first voice over work was portraying two cats in the "Garfield" special "Garfield on the Town" (1983). She is probably best known for her role as Miss Alordayne Grotke in the popular Walt Disney TV series "Recess" (1997−2001), reprising this role in the feature film "" (2001) and three direct-to-video specials.


title: Allyce Beasley

text: She has also voiced herself in an episode of "Johnny Bravo", made a guest appearance in the television series "The Wild Thornberrys", "Extreme Ghostbusters", "Pound Puppies", "Darkwing Duck", "Lloyd in Space" and "Duckman" in addition to voicing several characters in the video game "EverQuest II".


title: Allyce Beasley

text: Beasley narrated for Playhouse Disney from April 16, 2001, until March 30, 2007. She was also the announcer for the safety video with Itchy and Scratchy that plays during The Simpsons Ride at Universal Studios Hollywood and Florida.


title: Allyce Beasley

text: During the summer of 2009, she was seen onstage in "The Drowsy Chaperone" at Gateway Playhouse on Long Island, playing Mrs. Tottendale.


title: Allyce Beasley

text: She replaced Veanne Cox in the role of Mme. Renaud/Mme. Dindon in the Tony Award-winning revival of "La Cage aux Folles" alongside Kelsey Grammer and Douglas Hodge on September 14, 2010.


title: Allyce Beasley

text: In the spring of 2014, she portrayed Doris in the musical "Damn Yankees" with Lora Lee Gayer at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Connecticut.


title: Allyce Beasley

text: Beasley married photographer Christopher Sansocie in 1970. They divorced in 1972. While appearing on "Taxi", Beasley met actor Vincent Schiavelli. The two were married from 1985 to 1988, and they had one son, Andrea Schiavelli. In 1999, Beasley married for the third time to her current husband Jim Bosche, a writer.


title: Allyce Beasley

text: Beasley was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998. After undergoing a partial mastectomy and stem cell transplant, she was declared cancer free.


title: Civil Guard (Spain)

text: The Civil Guard (; ) is the oldest law enforcement agency in Spain and is one of two national police forces. As a national gendarmerie force, it is military in nature and is responsible for civil policing under the authority of both the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defence. The role of the Ministry of Defence is limited except in times of war when the Ministry has exclusive authority. The corps is colloquially known as the "" (reputable). In annual surveys, it generally ranks as the national institution most valued by Spaniards, closely followed by other law enforcement agencies and the armed forces.


title: Civil Guard (Spain)

text: It has both a regular national role and undertakes specific foreign peacekeeping missions and is part of the European Gendarmerie Force. As a national gendarmerie force, the Civil Guard was modelled on the French National Gendarmerie and has many similarities.


title: Civil Guard (Spain)

text: As part of its daily duties, the Civil Guard patrols and investigates crimes in rural areas, including highways and ports, whilst the National Police deals with safety in urban situations. Most cities also have a Municipal Police Force. The three forces are nationally co-ordinated by the Ministry of the Interior. The Civil Guard is usually stationed at "casas cuartel", which are both minor residential garrisons and fully-equipped police stations.


title: Civil Guard (Spain)

text: The "Guardia Civil" was founded as a national police force in 1844 during the reign of Queen Isabel II of Spain by the 2nd Duke of Ahumada and 5th Marquess of Amarillas, an 11th generation descendant of Aztec emperor Moctezuma II. Previously, law enforcement had been the responsibility of the "Holy Brotherhood", an organization of municipal leagues. Corruption was pervasive in the Brotherhood, where officials were constantly subject to local political influence, and the system was largely ineffective outside the major towns and cities. Criminals could often escape justice by simply moving from one district to another. The first "Guardia" police academy was established in the town of Valdemoro, south of Madrid, in 1855. Graduates were given the Guardia's now famous "tricorne" or "Cavaliers" hat as part of their duty dress uniform.


title: Civil Guard (Spain)

text: The "Guardia" was initially charged with putting an end to brigandage on the nation's highways, particularly in Andalusia, which had become notorious for numerous robberies and holdups of businessmen, peddlers, travelers, and even foreign tourists. Banditry in this region was so endemic that the "Guardia" found it difficult to eradicate it completely. As late as 1884, one traveler of the day reported that it still existed in and around the city of Málaga:


title: Civil Guard (Spain)

text: The favorite and original method of the Malagueño highwayman is to creep up quietly behind his victim, muffle his head and arms in a cloak, and then relieve him of his valuables. Should he resist, he is instantly disembowelled with the dexterous thrust of a knife...[The Spanish highwayman] wears a profusion of amulets and charms...all of undoubted efficacy against the dagger of an adversary or the rifle of a Civil Guard.


title: Civil Guard (Spain)

text: The "Guardia Civil" was also given the political task of restoring and maintaining land ownership and servitude among the peasantry of Spain by the King, who desired to stop the spread of anti-monarchist movements inspired by the French Revolution. The end of the First Carlist War combined with the unequal distribution of land that resulted from prime minister Juan Álvarez Mendizábal's first Desamortización (1836–1837) had left the Spanish landscape scarred by the destruction of civil war and social unrest, and the government was forced to take drastic action to suppress spontaneous revolts by a restive peasantry. Based on the model of light infantry used by Napoléon in his European campaigns, the "Guardia Civil" was transformed into a military force of high mobility that could be deployed irrespective of inhospitable conditions, able to patrol and pacify large areas of the countryside. Its members, called 'guardias', maintain to this day a basic patrol unit formed by two agents, usually called a "pareja" (a pair), in which one of the 'guardias' will initiate the intervention while the second 'guardia' serves as a backup to the first.


title: Civil Guard (Spain)

text: During the Spanish Civil War, the "Guardia Civil" forces split almost evenly between those who remained loyal to the Republic, 53% of the members (which changed their name to "Guardia Nacional Republicana" – "National Republican Guard") and the rebel forces. However, the highest authority of the corps, Inspector General Sebastián Pozas, remained loyal to the republican government. Their contribution to the Republican war efforts were invaluable, but proved effective on both sides in urban combat.


title: Civil Guard (Spain)

text: The proportion of "Guardia Civil" members that supported the rebel faction at the time of the 1936 coup was relatively high compared to other Spanish police corps such as the "Guardias de Asalto" and the "Carabineros" ("Real Cuerpo de Carabineros de Costas y Fronteras"), where when the Civil War began over 70% of their members stayed loyal to the Spanish Republic.


title: Civil Guard (Spain)

text: Loyalist General of the "Guardia Civil" José Aranguren, commander of the 4th Organic Division and Military Governor of Valencia, was arrested by the victorious Francoist troops when they entered the city of Valencia at the end of March 1939. After being court-martialed, Aranguren was given the death penalty and was executed on 22 April in the same year.


title: Civil Guard (Spain)

text: Locally recruited units of the "Guardia Civil" were employed in Spain's overseas territories. These included three "tercia" (regiments) in the Philippines and two companies in Puerto Rico prior to 1898. Over six thousand Civil Guards, both indigenous and Spanish, were serving in Cuba in 1885 and smaller units were subsequently raised in Ifni and Spanish Guinea.


title: Civil Guard (Spain)

text: Following the Civil War, under the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco (1939–1975), the "Guardia Civil" was reinforced with the members of the "Carabineros", the "Royal Corps of Coast and Frontier Carabiniers", following the disbandment of the carabinier corps.


title: Civil Guard (Spain)

text: Critics of the "Guardia Civil" have alleged numerous instances of police brutality because of the organisation's association with Franco's regime. The fact that the "Guardia" largely operated in mostly rural and isolated parts of the country increased the risk of police violations of individual civil rights through lack of supervision and accountability. García Lorca's poems have contributed to the "Guardia Civil"'s reputation as, at least at the time, a heavy-handed police force.


title: Civil Guard (Spain)

text: The involvement of "Guardia Civil" figures in politics continued right up until the end of the twentieth century: on 23 February 1981, Lt. Col. Antonio Tejero Molina, a member of the "Guardia Civil", participated with other military forces in the failed 23-F coup d'état. Along with 200 members of the "Guardia Civil", he briefly took hold of the lower house of the "Cortes" before the coup collapsed following a nationally televised address by King Juan Carlos, who denounced the coup.


title: Civil Guard (Spain)

text: The "Guardia Civil" as a police force, has had additional tasks given to it in addition to its traditional role.


title: Civil Guard (Spain)

text: It is the largest police force in Spain, in terms of area served. Today, they are primarily responsible for policing and/or safety regarding the following (but not limited to) areas and/or safety related issues (given in no special order):


title: Civil Guard (Spain)

text: The "Guardia Civil" has been involved in operations as peacekeepers in United Nations sponsored operations, including operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Angola, Congo, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Haiti, East Timor and El Salvador. They also served with the Spanish armed forces contingent in the war in Iraq, mainly as military police but also in intelligence gathering, where seven of its members were killed.


title: Civil Guard (Spain)

text: In the Afghan war effort the rapid reaction branch of the "Guardia Civil"; the "Grupo de Acción Rápida" (GAR) were deployed to the Kabul area in 2002 shortly after the invasion and served as the protective team for the High Representative of the European Union. They maintained their services until 2008. In that period, the "Agrupación de Tráfico" (Traffic Group), "Jefatura Fiscal y de Fronteras" (Customs and Revenue Service), "Policía Judicial" (Judicial Police), and "Seguridad Ciudadana" (Public Order and Prevention service) have also had their deployments to Afghanistan for the peacekeeping efforts.


title: Civil Guard (Spain)

text: After 2009, the mission of the Civil Guards in Afghanistan shifted focus to training up local security forces in the country. In that period, the counter-terrorism branch of the "Guardia Civil"; the "Unidad de Acción Rural" (UAR) were deployed to Afghanistan to train the Afghan National Police as part of ISAF's Police Advisor Team (PAT) formerly the Police Operative Mentoring and Liaison Team (POMLT)


title: Civil Guard (Spain)

text: In addition to "el instituto armado" ("the armed institution"), the "Guardia Civil" is known as "la benemérita" ("the well-remembered"). They served in the Spanish colonies, including Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Spanish Guinea and Spanish Morocco.


title: Civil Guard (Spain)

text: The "Guardia Civil" has a sister force in Costa Rica also called the "Guardia Civil". The Costa Rican 'guardias' often train at the same academy as regular Spanish officers.


title: Civil Guard (Spain)

text: During the Iraqi Civil War, the GAR have been deployed to Iraq to train and assist Iraqi federal police in the fight against ISIS militants.


title: Civil Guard (Spain)

text: The first hymn was composed between 1915 and 1916 by Asunción García Sierra (who wrote the lyrics) and Ildefonso Moreno Carrilllo (who composed the music) as a school hymn. In the 1920s, Lieutenant Colonel José Osuna Pineda was assigned to the center as Head of Studies and arranged the original text and melody. This hymn was that of the College of Young Guardsmen, adopted as the school's alma mater march since December 1922. Despite the absence of any legal provision, the hymn became official upon its use.


title: Civil Guard (Spain)

text: The motto of the Civil Guard is "Honor is my badge". It comes from article 1 of the "Cartilla del Guardia Civil", written by the Duke of Ahumada in 1845. The full text says: "Honor is the main badge of the Civil Guard; it must, therefore, be kept spotless. Once lost, it is never recovered".


title: Civil Guard (Spain)

text: The Music Unit of the Civil Guard ( is the military band of the Civil Guard and is one of multiple in the Armed Forces. It is officially part of the guard's General Directorate. Since its creation in 1844, it has had musical infantry and cavalry formations through various ranks. Only the Civil Guard and the Royal Guard, as well as many Army cavalry and artillery units retained mounted bands with cavalry trumpeters at the time while the infantry of both the Army and Civil Guard had bugle bands then (formerly corps of drums composed of drummers and fifers). It was not until 19 November 1859 when a unified band appeared for the first time. Other bands would be formed throughout the years in both Madrid and Valdemoro. In 1940, the first squads of Civil Guard musicians were officially approved and applications to join the official Civil Guard band were released in October 1941. In 1949, and as a consequence of the merger of the Carabineros Corps and the Civil Guard, their respective Music bands were also unified. These templates remained that way for over two decades when they were increased to adapt them to those of Army Music, forming two bands: one with 75 musicians attached to the General Directorate of the Corps and with 50 instrumentalists belonging to the Jefatura de Enseñanza. More recently, according to the resolutions of 28 June 2004 and 14 February 2006, the two music units were unified, constituting the current band which reports to the General Subdirectorate of Personnel and is administratively attached to the General Affairs Service.


title: Civil Guard (Spain)

text: A small mounted band is in service with the Security Group's Civil Guard Cavalry Squadron, with its barracks and stables in Valdemoro, administratively under the supervision of the Young Guardsmen's College. Unlike other mounted bands, they only use fanfare trumpets ("clarines de caballeria" and "trompetas bajas"). They continue the traditions of the Civil Guard cavalry since its foundation.