With dad Craig watching from the stands, Toronto Blue Jays 2B Cavan Biggio got the first three hits of his career on Sunday
Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Cavan Biggio finally gave his Hall of Fame father something to cheer about in his third game in the big leagues.
Biggio, with father Craig watching from the Rogers Centre stands, collected his first three career hits, including his first home run, in the Blue Jays’ 10-1 win over the San Diego Padres on Sunday afternoon.
The 24-year-old made his Major League debut on Friday but had been 0-6 at the plate through his first two games. It took just one at-bat on Sunday, though, for him finally to break that small drought. Biggio ripped a single to right field off Padres starter Robbie Erlin past a diving Wil Myers at first base in the second inning for the first hit of his career. Then, in the fourth inning, he hit a 405-foot home run down the right-field line off reliever Matt Wisler. As he rounded the bases for the first time in the big leagues, his father was high-fiving fans sitting around him.
Biggio added another single and his second RBI in the fifth inning, finishing the game 3-4 with a home run and two RBI. He’s now hitting .300 in his three games. He hit .307 with six home runs and 26 RBI in 42 games with Triple-A Buffalo before his call-up and was second in the International League in on-base percentage.
Craig went on to a Hall of Fame career with the Houston Astros, but even he didn’t get off to as quick a start as his son. It took him eight games in his rookie season of 1988 before he got his third career hit. He didn’t hit his first homer until his 33rd game. For him, though, seeing his son in a big league uniform is just as thrilling as anything he accomplished in his career.
“It’s just exciting,” he said on Friday before Cavan’s debut. “As dads we’re done. We’re old guys now. It doesn’t even matter. But now you’re like, ‘your kid’s in the big leagues.’ It doesn’t get any better for me than that.”
Cavan is expected to remain the Blue Jays regular second baseman for the remainder of the season, forming a young starting infield that also includes fellow rookies Rowdy Tellez at first and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at third. Biggio, though, is also a versatile fielder, starting games at five different positions for Buffalo this season.
Sunday’s game was a big moment for his entire family, and now that he has the first three hits of his career out of the way, he only has 3,057 left to go before he catches his father.