Craig Biggio generally had a good grip regarding all things baseball, but, given all the pine tar he slathered on his bats, his batting gloves and batting helmets over the years, how could he not?

Craig Biggio covers himself in dirt ... Hard-fought leadoff singles, balls clanking off a battered elbow guard, thick pine tar tacked onto his scarred helmet and a dirt-covered uniform - never ...

This is the enduring image of Craig Biggio: sitting at his locker ... the rest of him is a chaotic mass of eye black, pine tar, bruises and abrasions, a snapshot of his nightly commitment.

Tribute pages: Craig Biggio | Randy Johnson | Pedro Martinez ... It's a wonder there was any pine tar left in Texas from all the gunk amassed on Biggio's batting helmet. And elbow guard ...

Biggio became the visage of a hardscrabble star — his black Astros helmet often dusted in pine tar, white pinstriped ... school fields of Long Island. "Craig is the kind of guy that likes ...

"Craig went up to his room, and I'll never forget it," Patty Biggio said ... another puff of sand and pine tar billowing into a cloud above his head. Up went the familiar chant, the one Biggio ...

Craig Biggio once said he was fortunate to be ... Today, for the last time, he'll lay his bats in front of his locker, each smeared with pine tar, each sanded and taped to his satisfaction.