Skip navigation
Site powered by
Latest news:
msnbc.com: Top msnbc.com headlines: GM, Ford, Home Depot among America's shrinking corporate giants

Bagwell says it's '50-50' he'll play again

Injured Astros star could face retirement with shoulder injury

Injured Houston Astros star Jeff Bagwell said it's "50-50" that he will play baseball again, the Houston Chronicle reported Tuesday.

The Chronicle said Bagwell's ambivelance is in contrast to last month, when he was more confident in returning.

"I was," he said. "Now I know I'm still a long way away. I don't want to get too far ahead of myself. I understand that I might not be able to play again."

Bagwell has been sidelined since May 4, when he took himself out of the lineup with intolerable pain in his shoulder. He had surgery to loosen the bones in the shoulder, the Chronicle said.

Bagwell, who has 449 home runs and 1,525 RBIs, has wrestled with big pain in his shoulder for four years with a degenerative arthritic condition, the Chronicle said.

The 37-year-old longtime star of the Astros told the Chronicle he might have to face the reality of retirement.

"I think it'll be a little easier because I'm going to stay in the game," he said. "I don't know what I'll do, but it'll be something. Being hurt the way I've been for the last four years, knowing my time was coming anyway, that has forced me to think about it.

"It's not like I'm at the beginning of my career anyway."

© 2011 NBC Sports.com

advertisement
More news
Milwaukee Brewers v St. Louis Cardinals - Game Four
NBC Sports
Who made the better move?

SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?

Image: Detroit Tigers v Los Angeles Dodgers
Getty Images
DeMarco: Dodgers can become power

DeMarco: Plug in a well-heeled ownership group and negotiate one of those mega-bucks TV deals that are going around, and the Dodgers could become the west coast version of the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox.

Interactive
Rangers Spring Baseball
Maps to spring training sites
Your guide to sites in Arizona, Florida
Slideshow
Houston Astros
  Unbreakable records in baseball
A look at the most unbreakable records in baseball including Nolan Ryan's seven no-hitters.
Slideshow
Image: Albert Pujols
  The top tools of baseball
You hear a lot about the tools of baseball, but who are the best hitters, fielders and pitchers? We break it down.

more photos