Baseball fans may think the Houston Astros are now Lance Berkman's team because he is putting up the biggest numbers. To me, though, the Astros are still all about Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell.

	Bagwell

	Biggio

There is a tendency to think young players like Berkman, Roy Oswalt, Wade Miller and Carlos Hernandez just come up to the big leagues and have success. Most of the time, that is not the case. There is always someone guiding the young players in the right direction, and Biggio and Bagwell are willing to share their knowledge of what it takes to be successful at the big-league level. I'm sure Biggio and Bagwell have had a hand in helping Berkman feel relaxed and be productive.

Although both are getting older, they are still effective players and have plenty of gas left in the tank. This is the first year in which their numbers have been significantly different than they have been in the past, but that happens when a player gets older. People begin to question how much longer a player should play; every player goes through it. But Bagwell has dealt with shoulder problems since having offseason surgery, and Biggio is still one of the National League's better second basemen.

It's hard for me to think of them being older players because I remember when they both came up. Biggio was a catcher, and Bagwell was a third baseman. But in the process of changing positions, their offensive production was never hurt.

Instead of a player's numbers, I like to look at consistency. When players play the game the right way, you don't worry about the numbers. You know they will play at the same level every year. And few players have been as consistent as Bagwell and Biggio over the last decade. Consistency has set them apart.

When Bagwell first started, he experimented with his stance, his grip, his bat. He tried different things until he found something that worked. That is one of the keys to being a great player -- making something work, whether it looks good or not. His crouching stance and setup are unorthodox and may not work for the kids watching at home, but it works for him -- and has for a long time. Plus, Bagwell learned early on how to be patient and selective at the plate.

Since his breakout year in 1994, when he was named the NL MVP, Bagwell has been able to sustain a level of excellence as one of the game's best run producers. He is the reason Berkman gets so many RBI chances and good pitches to hit because Bagwell is either ahead of him or behind him in the order. Despite his shoulder problems, which affected his swing early in the season, he is starting to come around again at the plate. He is hitting .450 in September.

Bagwell is the only player in history to have six straight seasons of 30 homers, 100 RBI, 100 runs and 100 walks, and it appears he is on his way to a seventh. In addition, he is a better fielding first baseman than he gets credit for, winning a Gold Glove in 1994. And he is a great baserunner who has stolen more than 30 bases in a season twice.

While Biggio is a different type of player, he takes advantage of every opportunity much like Bagwell does. Biggio is a gamer who plays hard everyday and does whatever is necessary to help his team win. If a pitcher leaves a ball up in the zone, he will hit a home run. If not, he will get a base hit, get hit by a pitch, walk, steal a base, and work his way around the bases to score a run.

The Astros can count on Biggio every year to hit close to .300, score 100 runs, steal around 20 bases or more and play Gold Glove-caliber defense at second base.

But above all, Biggio and Bagwell are leaders. The Astros got off to a slow start and have worked hard to get back in the playoff hunt. They are running out of time, but if the Astros can close the gap on St. Louis in the NL Central, Biggio and Bagwell will be leading the way.

Tony Gwynn, who will take over as the head baseball coach at San Diego State next year, is working as an analyst for ESPN.