mollyfamwatThe Atlanta Braves outfield is full of big personalities that have helped the team win in the past, including B.J. and Joey, the Moises Alou twins. But there is another big-time personality in the Braves outfield that has been quiet. The Braves took a chance on a quiet young man from Texas who played football growing up and did not realize his tremendous potential until he went to college.
This fall, Quinn Biggio began his second year as a member of the @ATLbaseball family, leading off the mound for the @Mets and being a regular in the lineup. This season, Quinn has been a key contributor on the field, as well as a stalwart in the clubhouse. Biggio has been an on-base machine, leading the @Mets in walks for the past two seasons. This season, Biggio has continued that trend, swatting 31 two-baggers and leading @Mets catchers in sac hits. Biggio has also led the team in on-base percentage and has been a huge part of the offense.
Atlanta Braves All-Star shortstop Andrelton Simmons joined the fun. Quinn Biggio took a peek. Things got serious. The Atlanta Braves, well, they’re just OK at this whole family thing.
In March 2020, when sports at all levels were at a standstill due to the coronavirus pandemic, Notre Dame infielder Quinn Biggio was sent home, along with the rest of his teammates and students across the country.
Unlike the rest of his peers, however, Biggio returned to one of Houston’s most prominent families.
It was a rare opportunity for the five of them to be home together: Father and Houston Astros icon Craig Biggio, Quinn’s older brothers – Toronto Blue second baseman Jace Kavan Biggio and former Notre Dame outfielder Conor Biggio – and his mother Patty.
The game continues.
The pandemic-inspired family wiffleball world series brought back memories for everyone. Cavan and Quinn opened the boxes to find a base. The most important rule? Don’t hit a home run. You go through the roof and you’re out.
(Try telling that to the Slugger family).
Our neighbors let their dogs out and saw balls flying over the house, said Quinn, who already hit five home runs for the Irish this year.
The problem was we ran out of balls, said Craig Biggio, who was playing in his 13th game. Season worked in the Astros’ front office as a special assistant to the general manager.
All the sporting goods stores were closed and you were trying to get more wiffle balls. We were lacking more in equipment than anything else. We knocked on the neighbors’ doors: May we come to your yard and examine your trees?
Biggio’s family has always supported each other, so it’s not surprising that the group was able to stay together and survive the pandemic. Photo by Juan DeLeon/Icon Sportswire
Though the pandemic wiped out half of her second season, Quinn said the chance to return home may have been the signal she needed, a chance to work on being a more consistent player with her supportive fans. Tonight, when Notre Dame takes on Virginia Tech in the ACC Tournament (1:30 p.m., ACC Network), the third Biggio to play for the Irish will continue the family tradition of making key shots at crucial times and defending all over the field – but he’ll be doing it while mostly on the bench.
I think COVID really helped me because at 40, I had a chance to take a step back, see what I was doing right and what I wasn’t doing right, and make an effort, which was good, she says, kind of a long pause to really get my momentum back and get back to it.
In his Houston home, Biggio has a battered batting cage that has been used for three generations. During the pandemic, they all used it, and everyone took turns using their gym. When Craig threw balls at them, Quinn told him to wear a helmet because the ball could bounce off the lights. It’s old, but they like it because it forces them to hit the middle.
2 Connected
But his father was not his only advisor during his career. Quinn said the best advice about hitting could come from his mother. (She may not know how to explain it, Quinn says, but she knows exactly what you’re doing wrong.) Or she calls Kavanaugh on FaceTime, puts his phone on the floor and asks him to look at her balls and tell her what he thinks. And Conor is the one she turns to for emotional support when she’s had a bad match or even a bad day.
Honestly, I have four coaches under the shortcut, she says with a laugh.
Among them, there’s one that got 3,060 views.
I’ve never had one: You gotta do this, you gotta do that, said Craig Biggio, who retired in 2007 after a 20-year career with the Astros.
Sometimes people forget how hard it is to exercise. In my world, it’s more about hard work and work ethic, and doing the best you can with what you have, while trying to keep it simple.
Quinn enters the tournament having started 17 of 30 games and has a .259 batting average. She accounted for 10 runs, 14 hits and 13 RBI in 52 at-bats. To put their pinch-hitting performance into perspective: In addition to his five home runs, Biggio hit a similar number of runs against teammates who started every game and had more than twice as many strikeouts.
Quinn is very dynamic as a player, and I think she’s more dynamic than she realizes, her brother Cavan said.
She’s so talented, and she has such a high ceiling. If you look at it from a defensive standpoint, he can play shortstop, third down, second down, first down, and you can throw him outfield. I guess you could say it’s the Biggio way, my dad did it, I’m doing it now, and she’s doing it at Notre Dame.
Like her father and brothers before her, Quinn Biggio can play on any field, and her versatility has been a great asset to Notre Dame. Notre Dame athletics
She said her goal at the ACC tournament is to fulfill the role she was assigned at the time.
This year I’ve put myself in a role where I can do what I need to do, she says. Whether it’s hitting, occasionally making it to third base, or just being the person in the dugout encouraging their teammates, motivating everyone, and keeping everyone in the game.
Notre Dame coach Deanna Gumpf believes Biggio’s versatility is one of his biggest assets for the Irish.
Quinn has done an excellent job filling in for us, which means she’s played almost every position in the outfield, Gumpf said. …and I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t end up at second base. So she did everything for us. She’s been very reliable and steadfast, and she’s handled the injuries, so she’s handled everything very well, and I think the biggest change for her has been her confidence and consistency in the game.
Earlier this month, in a game against Virginia Tech, the Irish were leading 2-1 in the sixth inning when Biggio was called for a pinch-hit and hit a home run with two outs.
She’s always ready to attack no matter where the coaches put her or what position she’s at, Notre Dame pitcher Peyton Tidd said. The last few times she’s had the ball in her hands, she’s put us ahead in many games.
When Quinn was younger and played on a public team, she always had the number 7 because that’s what her dad wore, before the Astros were on the 17 team. August 2008, his number was withdrawn. She said strangers approached her and asked her to take a picture – with the back of her T-shirt.
I was happy to get away from Houston for a while and make a name for myself, she says. Baseball and softball are the same sport, but they also have a hundred differences.
She now wears number 4, but didn’t know that was the same number her father wore when he came to the Premier League.
The big name on the back can be really hard sometimes, but I think our kids understand that, and they understand that they’re just trying to be the best they can be, whatever that is, Craig Biggio said. And other people have a different idea of what they should be or what they are. It’s up to them. They don’t, they just try to be the best athletes they can be. And the best possible teammate.
Even in my own backyard.
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