HOUSTON (AP) — Jeff Bagwell retired Friday after 15 years with the Houston Astros, ending a career in which he hit 449 home runs but was forced from the field after the 2005 season because of a shoulder injury.
Along with Craig Biggio, Bagwell led the Astros to four division titles and the team’s first NL pennant in 2005. The 38-year-old Bagwell retires as Houston’s leader in homers, RBIs (1,529), walks (1,401) and extra-base hits (969). He finished with a .297 career average.
Ahmet Ertegun, the music magnate who founded Atlantic Records and shaped the careers of John Coltrane, Ray Charles, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and many others, died today in Manhattan. He was 83.
A spokesman for Atlantic Records said the death was the result of a brain injury suffered when Mr. Ertegun fell backstage at the Beacon Theater in Manhattan on Oct. 29 as the Rolling Stones prepared to play a concert to mark former President Bill Clinton’s 60th birthday. He had been in a coma since then.
“Few people have had a bigger impact on the record industry than Ahmet,” David Geffen, the entertainment mogul, said today in a telephone interview from Los Angeles, “and no one loved American music more than he did.”
