Dear fans,

Today is definitely a tough day for me, as I'm making it official -- at the end of the season, I'm retiring from baseball and saying good-bye to this great game that I love.

This is definitely an emotional day and it's going to be an emotional last two months of the season. The only thing I can really say to you, the fans, is thank you.

I think I said at the beginning of this year that this season was all about my family and the fans. The fans have been great to me. I tried to play the game the right way, and I believe I did. You have been so supportive of me, and I want to thank you for 20 unbelievable seasons. For me, it's definitely been a storybook career.

There are so many things I'm going to miss. I'm going to miss the relationships I have with my teammates, that I have with the clubhouse workers. People like Dennis Liborio, our equipment manager, and Barry Waters, the traveling secretary. They've been with the team throughout my entire career, as have others. Those are the people you worked with every day for the last 20 years -- the guys that continue to make fun of each other for whatever we do, the people who just made the job fun.

I'm going to miss standing on the field for the national anthem. I think over 20 years, I've missed maybe three or four. I'm going to  miss that. I'm going to miss the competition of the game, the excitement of the game, not knowing what's going to happen. You work so hard all season long for the opportunity to get into the postseason -- I'm going to miss that, too.

I'll miss the whole aspect of the game itself. Stepping into the batter's box and not know how your day's going to go, whether it's going to be good or bad. That's why you go out there and play. You appreciate the different cities, the different ballparks, the history of certain organizations. And the players you're competing with, and against.

I've been honored to play this game, to play it the right way. To me, I did play it the right way and that makes me feel good. I'm going to miss it. This is what I do. This is my living. I've been honored to play the game, the greatest game, and one of the hardest games to ever play. I'm going to miss it a lot.

I've been so blessed to have played for one team my entire career. That means a lot, especially in this day and age where there's no loyalty from players or management anymore. It was great that Jeff Bagwell and I could both work that out. There's been loyalty, from three sides. It's from our side, from management's side and the fans' side. If the fans didn't come out and support us, and watch us play, would it have lasted as long as it did? Probably not. That makes you feel appreciated because they are part of it. They're part of the decision making.

One of the best parts about this game is interacting with kids. Baseball is a kid's game, and kids, to me ... that's what it's all about. That's what life's all about. To be able to touch their lives, no matter how you do it, whether it's signing an autograph or going to a hospital, has been a privilege.

You only get one chance to make a first impression. You might be having a bad day, or week or whatever it is, but you're only going to get that one chance to make an impression on a child. If you're a jerk, that kid's going to walk away thinking you're a jerk. That always stuck with me. No matter how you're feeling, if you're meeting somebody always be respectful and be nice and that's the impression they're going to have on you. I tried to live by that.

Speaking of kids, I couldn't write this farewell letter without mentioning The Sunshine Kids. My retirement does not mean the end of my affiliation with them. We'll continue to have the annual golf tournament. It's driven by the fans. We've raised almost $2.5 million and the fans give that money. They believe in the kids and they support it and we'll always have it. As long as I'm in Houston, we'll always have it.

The Sunshine Kids will always be part of my life. That's the one part I'm excited about -- now I'll get an opportunity to spend even more time with them. Maybe go on a couple of trips that they go on and do the different things they do that we're raising money for. That's going to be an exciting time in my life.

Now that I've made the final decision to retire, I'm at peace with it and I'm at peace with how things have gone for me. I'm in a good place. I can play for another year or two, and I don't think it would be that hard for me. But I have a responsibility to my family now. My kids are getting older. Now it's time say thank you and really be around my family at home.

A lot of guys don't get the opportunity to write their own story and walk away when they want to walk away. A lot of times, it's taken away or sometimes guys stay too long. I don't want that. I want the fans' memory of me to be as a guy who, even though I don't play like I did when I was 28 years old, I'm still doing a pretty darn good job of playing the game the way I can play it. That's what I want them to remember.

It couldn't get any better than it did on June 28, when I reached my 3,000th hit. It can't get any better than that, other than winning the World Series. That was the greatest day of my life and my family's life. That's what I want the fans to remember.

That's why I feel I'm in a good place. I'm happy with my decision to retire. I'm proud of it. But I know the next couple of months are going to be very, very hard for me. It's sad that each time as you get closer and closer to the end, the realization hits you that you're not going to be putting on the uniform and going between the lines anymore.

I'm glad I'm announcing this now, because it'll give me time to say good-bye to the fans and for the fans to say good-bye to me. I hope I'll see you at the ballpark before the year's up. I thank you for letting me in and opening up your lives to me.

It's been an unbelievable ride.

Craig Biggio

The day after going 5-for-6 to reach the 3,000-hit mark and beyond, Craig Biggio wanted to use this space to share his appreciation for fans. You are encouraged to leave comments below and we'll make sure he sees them.

Now that that the big night is over and we've all had a chance to reflect upon the excitement that we all felt when hit No. 3,000 was finally in the books, I want to take a moment to thank you, the fans, and tell you what a thrill it was to celebrate this milestone with so many people who have supported the Astros over the years.

If you were a fan here at Minute Maid Park, if you were a player in either dugout and obviously if you had my name and number on the back of your jersey, it was a very special night. It was one of those nights in baseball that doesn't come around very often. For it to happen the way that it did, here at home, it really is beyond words. It's indescribable, the emotions the went through me. I just have a total appreciation for the way the fans feel about the way that I go about my business.

I was born and raised in the East, but the city of Houston has become home to me and my family. To be able to play my entire career with one team is a blessing for all of us -- for me, my wife, Patty and our children, Conor (right), Cavan and Quinn.  Life for a baseball player can be very difficult for a player and his family, but for us, to be honest, it's been very, very easy.

We've been in one city, and when you're in one city, you don't have to keep picking your kids up, moving them around, worry about taking the kids out of school early, worry about summer vacations while concentrating on what's going on with your season. I was very lucky. Part of playing in one city is not having to uproot your family. I'm very, very lucky for that.

I remember playing in the Astrodome in front of tiny crowds in the early days, and now, we draw close to three million fans every year. Jeff Bagwell and I can remember those old days and we're very proud of what this organization has become. Our fans expect us to win. We expect to win. Not getting to the postseason is not an option. This is the reality of what we do.

We have taken our sports fans from loving the game of baseball to absolutely going crazy about it now. They follow us the way they do an East Coast team. Baggy and I are proud of that.

It hasn't always been like this, and there were times that I deserved to get booed and deserved to take the criticism that I've taken. But I think as a person and as a man, you stand up when things aren't going well and you say, "I just wasn't good." I think the fans have respected that and appreciated the fact that when you stink you say you stink and you don't sugarcoat it. Over a 20-year period we had some good times and some bad times, but in general, we haven't had a lot to be upset about.

The night I reached my 3,000th hit, so many people who are important to me were there to see it. My family, Baggy, Nolan Ryan, the organization and the fans made that night so special. That night, I was a fan. Today, I'm a fan. It was unbelievable. From the standing ovations every single time up to the standing ovation when it happened.

It was important to me to bring Baggy out on the field. I was so proud of that, I was so happy for him to be out there one more time, because he wasn't able to end his career the way he wanted. Hopefully, I can write my own story and leave when I want to leave, but he didn't have that choice. So for me, that night, I wanted to really make my family No. 1 and he was No. 2.

I wanted him to be out there between the lines with me one more time, to enjoy it and for the fans to say, "Hey, Baggy, we love you and thank you for everything you've done for thie city." That night was just a magical moment.

To you, the fans, I just want to say thank you. I love you guys. Thank you for opening up your living rooms, your TVs, your hearts to my family and to me. As a player, it doesn't happen like this very often. For it to happen, I just want to thank you for it and I love you guys for it. Thanks.

Craig Biggio

The Astros are in the first World Series of their 44-year history, and this is a way to share this moment with them. The club invites you to send a note of encouragement or congratulations to your favorite player or the entire 2005 National League Champion Houston Astros team. Register at Astros.com for an account so you are eligible to post your comments below, and please add your name or at least your hometown in this Official Astros World Series Guestbook so we can all see how far Astro fever spreads. The Houston organization will be reading your comments and making sure the players themselves see what their devoted fans have to say at this historic moment.