Jeff Bagwell offers criticism of former Astros GM

Jeff Bagwell. Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Jeff Bagwell offers bizarre criticism of former Astros GM

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 11/29/22

Former general James Click may have helped build a World Series champion with the Houston Astros, but it still wasn't enough to secure his job or avoid criticism from a Hall of Famer.

Former first basemen Jeff Bagwell, who helped represent the team in its pursuit of free agent Jose Abreu this week, had some interesting analysis on the direction the franchise took under Click. Specifically its reliance on analytics.

In speaking with the media on Tuesday, Bagwell said it was his personal opinion that the team became too focused on analytics during Click's tenure and repeated the same old-school cliche that the game is played by humans and not computers.

In an acknowledgement today that he "personally" felt the Astros had gone too analytics-heavy under James Click, Jeff Bagwell said "there are certain things that go on that the numbers can’t explain. This game is played by humans, man. It’s not played by computers."
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) November 29, 2022

“This game is played by humans, not numbers,” says @baseballhall of Fame Jeff Bagwell, who admits that he personally thinks the #Astros front office went too far toward analytics under James Click. #LevelUp pic.twitter.com/GPHj804qOC
— Jose de Jesus Ortiz (@OrtizKicks) November 29, 2022

Bagwell was not dismissing analytics as a useful tool and went on to say you need to strike a balance and teams can not be too one dimensional.

That might be a fair statement, but here is the thing to keep in mind: The Astros literally just won the World Series, have been in six consecutive league championship series and won two championships during that time.

Whatever they were doing, it was working. A lot. And a lot better than anybody else in MLB.

Despite the success, Click had a rocky relationship with Astros owner Jim Crane and the two parted ways shortly after the Astros' World Series title. Crane was not willing to offer Click more than a one-year contract, an offer that Click deemed unacceptable given what he had helped accomplish.

The Astros are operating without a general manager.

One person that will not be the next general manager? Bagwell. He said on Tuesday that he has no interest in that role and will not even interview for it even if offered the chance.

Bagwell spent the entirety of his 15-year playing career with the Astros, hitting 449 home runs. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as part of the 2017 class.

More must-reads: