Chicago ? Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio stood side-by-side, elbow-to-elbow.

After 15 seasons with the Houston Astros – the longest run by teammates now in the majors – they finally made it onto a World Series field. They entered the dugout only a few steps apart before Friday’s workout, then walked out into the crisp October air together.

“It’s the way it should have happened,” Biggio said.

“This was what we wanted to do,” Bagwell said. “We spent a lot of time in this city and this organization trying to get to this particular point.”

Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte joined their hometown team two years ago, but Bagwell and Biggio long have been the face of the Astros through good and bad. The original “Killer Bs” shared the city’s long-suffering desire to make it to the World Series.

Tonight, the Astros play the Chicago White Sox in Game 1.

“It’s a great feeling. You wait a long time and dream about this, and you never know whether or not it’s going to happen,” said Biggio, whose worn and dirty Astros cap sported a bright new World Series logo on the left side. “You kind of believe in destiny.”

Biggio bounced up and down near second base between grounders, as much trying to stay warm as he was expending extra energy. Bagwell bundled up in a jacket and stood in the outfield, waiting his turn for batting practice.

“We’re treasuring it right now,” Biggio said.

If Bagwell is going to play in this series, it will be only as a hitter. The team’s career leader in home runs (449) and RBIs (1,529) has been limited to pinch-hitting since Sept. 9, when he returned after missing 115 games because of shoulder surgery.

Bagwell could be the designated hitter in Game 1, but manager Phil Garner wouldn’t reveal his plan Friday.

“I’ll be more than willing. Adrenaline will take a lot of pain out of my shoulder,” Bagwell said. “But this is not about me, the sentimental choice and all that. … You’ve got to put away the years that I’ve been here and what I’ve done. You’ve got to look at what’s best for this team in this particular moment.”

In the postseason, Bagwell is 1-for-3 with an RBI single in Game 1 of the NL division series against Atlanta. He batted only once in the NL championship series when the Astros beat St. Louis in six games.

“I would have really been disappointed if he wasn’t here on the roster,” Biggio said.

As much as they have become an inseparable duo, part of six of the Astros’ nine playoff teams and already with statues at Minute Maid Park, “Bags” and “Bij” didn’t start in Houston together.

A first-round draft pick by the Astros in 1987, Biggio made his major-league debut as a catcher two years later. He switched to second base from 1992-2002, and moved back to the infield this year after two seasons in the outfield.

Biggio is the only player in major-league history to have 600 doubles, 250 home runs, 2,700 hits and 400 stolen bases.

Biggio also holds the modern record of being hit by 273 pitches.