STARTING CATCHER: Alan Ashby STARTING FIRST BASEMAN: Jeff Bagwell STARTING SECOND BASEMAN: Jeff Kent STARTING SHORTSTOP: Dickie Thon STARTING THIRD BASEMAN: Enos Cabell STARTING LEFT FIELDER: Jose Cruz STARTING CENTER FIELDER: Jimmy Wynn STARTING RIGHT FIELDER: Kevin Bass TOP PH OFF OF THE BENCH: Moises Alou THE STARTING ROTATION: Nolan Ryan Mike Scott Roger Clemens Joe Niekro Mike Hampton THE BULLPEN: Danny Darwin Larry Andersen Hal Woodeshick Jim Umbricht Fred Gladding RESERVE INFIELDER: Art Howe Denis Menke RESERVE OUTFIELDER: Billy Hatcher Carlos Beltran RESERVE CATCHER: Brad Ausmus 25TH MAN: Jose Lima =============================================================================== Alan Ashby: Alan Ashby was involved with the Astros for so long as a player, a coach, a minor league manager and a color commentator that when I started to work on this entry, I just assumed he was on the home grown team! But nope. He is a product of the Indians farm system. Then he was a member of the original Toronto Blue Jays team. With the Astros he was a steady if not spectacular player with a little bit of pop. His homer off of Sid Fernandez gave the Astros all the runs they needed to win game 4 of the 1986 NLCS. Later as a broadcaster he was fired for being too critical of the team. He then went to the Blue Jays to be a color commentator. I am guessing he will eventually come full circle back to the Indians. Jeff Bagwell: Earlier I mentioned discussing the Glen Davis trade with Robert Wuhl. Years later when I was a producer on The Daily Show I struck up a conversation with Bob Costas, who was a guest. I brought up bad trades and told him about Wuhl and I saying the Glenn Davis was as brutal a one sided trade in recent years that we could think of. Costas didn't even blink. He didn't even pause to consider it. He just shook his head and said "Jeff Bagwell for Larry Andersen." I was stopped in my tracks by the master. And it hurt. The Red Sox needed another arm for the bullpen and the Astros ponied up Andersen in exchange for a hitter. The Sox would not part with Scott Cooper so they sacrificed a third baseman from the suburbs of Boston. And Bagwell wasted no time showing the Red Sox how bad a trade it was. Andersen lost one of the four ALCS games against Oakland and skedaddled to San Diego. Bagwell won the Rookie of the Year, won the MVP (and nearly won it again 2 more times) won a Gold Glove and several silver sluggers and became one of the most popular players in Astros history, finishing his career in the 2005 World Series. Yup, that trade was worse than the Glenn Davis deal. Who am I to argue with Bob Costas? Jeff Kent: In 2004, my wife was subjected to her second straight October of brutally tense games between the Red Sox and Yankees. And while she doesn't follow baseball, my lovely bride would tense up when she saw her husband turn into Rain Man, rocking back and forth and muttering softly, as the games kept going into extra innings. When game 5 of the ALCS went 14 innings, my wife eventually went to bed saying "I'm not watching any more of this." Papi singled home Damon and I went nuts. Then I flipped over to the other game and I saw the Cardinals and Astros were in a scoreless tie going into the 9th inning. I thought "Oh man, this can't go into extra innings as well!" I threw in a tape and taped the rest of the game. (Remember tapes?) When I woke up the next morning I had no clue who won the Astros/Cardinals game and I started watching the tape, wondering if this was going to go 14 innings as well. It wouldn't even go extra innings. Jeff Kent would crush a mamouth walk off 3 run homer to give the Astros a 3-2 lead in the series. Kent, who actually looked happy to see his teammates, kept holding up a finger and saying "One More!" The Astros wouldn't get that one more win, but Kent would blast 3 homers and drive in 7 in the 7 game loss to the Cardinals. I was able to see who won and get on with my day... or at least until the start of game 6, Red Sox vs. Yankees. Dickie Thon: You know Mike Torrez was a good solid pitcher for most of his career and had the kind of highlight that most pitchers only dream of. He threw a complete game to clinch the 1977 World Series at home for the New York Yankees. And yet Torrez isn't remembered for that. He's remembered for two things: 1) Serving up the Bucky Dent home run and 2) Hitting Dickie Thon in the face and derailing his career forever. Who know what Dickie Thon would have been if not for the fast ball to the face? The Astros dealt long time fan favorite Ken Forsch for him and he blossomed into an All Star and an MVP candidate in 1983. Then in the 3rd inning in a game against the Mets on April 8, Torrez hit him in the face and ended his season. He would come back the next season, but his depth perception was impaired. He played in the 1986 NLCS and eventually became the Phillies starting shortstop for three seasons. But he could have been the National League answer to Cal Ripken. What could have been. F-ing Torrez! Enos Cabell: Part of the deal that sent Lee May packing to Baltimore (see Joe Morgan above) Cabell gave the Astros some stability at third, some speed in the line up and some MVP votes in 1978. He also was one of the players caught up in the Pittsburgh cocaine ring during the 1980s, but hey! It was the 80s! Cabell cleaned himself up and is now part of the Astros front office. Jose Cruz: Like Alan Ashby, I've always associated Jose Cruz with the Astros and forgot that he wasn't actually a product of their farm system. He was a two time All Star for the 'Stros and the perfect line drive in the gap power hitter for the Astrodome. He had his number retired by the Astros in 1992. Jimmy Wynn: Who knows what kind of power numbers Wynn could have put up in a hitters ballpark. He managed to hit as many as 37 in a year. Wynn never was among the league leaders in batting average but always walked a lot and hit for a high slugging percentage. In other words if he played NOW, OPS geeks would be praying for him to be available in their fantasy draft. He just played in the wrong era! The Astros retired his number too. You know for a franchise with a grand total of zero World Series titles, they sure have a lot of retired numbers! Kevin Bass: Kevin Bass' number is retired too. At the Menlo School, the high school Kevin Bass attended in Atherton, California. I am a member of the Menlo School class of 1990. The year I graduated was the first year he played for the Giants and a lot of my teachers were buzzing that he was coming home. I met him at a Menlo School function and he couldn't have been more gracious, especially when Ron Bryant the head football coach introduced me as "A guy who knows everything about baseball." He was an All Star with the Astros who hit for average, had speed and displayed about as much pop as you could expect in the Astrodome. Alas his good fortune didn't follow him to Candlestick where he was a bust. But he had a second stint with the Astros and found his stroke again. Who knew someone could FIND their stroke in the Astrodome. GO MENLO! Moises Alou: When the Marlins had their first fire sale after the 1997 World Series, the Astros stole Alou away and plugged a World Series hero into left field. He didn't disappoint hitting .312 with 38 homers, 124 RBI and an OPS of .982 to finish third in the MVP voting behind Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire. Remember them? They saved baseball. After the 1998 playoffs Alou hurt himself on the treadmill and missed all of the 1999 season. It affected him so much that when he returned in 2000 he hit .355 with 30 homers, 114 RBI and an OPS of 1.039. Maybe more players should have a mishap on the treadmill! Nolan Ryan: Doesn't it seem in retrospect that Nolan Ryan was always pitching in Texas?I mean when we look back, isn't it odd that he called any other state home? But there he was, winning a World Series in New York and throwing no hitters and striking out record numbers of hitters in Southern California. Nolan wasn't a New York guy or a California dude. He belonged in Texas so much that he actually didn't even look stupid in the uniform. I will stand by my stance that Ryan should have won the Cy Young Award in 1987. But look at the categories he lead the league in that year. Earned Run Average. Strikeouts. Strikeouts per nine innings. Strikeout to Walk ratio. And was among the league leaders in WHIP and Innings pitched. He was punished because he didn't have run support. He lost a pile of games where he only let up 1 or 2 runs and on September 9th in a key game against San Francisco... Ryan got the win but had to knock in the winning run himself. He was the best starter in the bigs that year. He deserves some hardware. His number is retired too. Are you surprised? Mike Scott: Remember how controversial his scuffed pitches were in the NLCS? Doesn't that controversy seem so quaint when you compare it to injecting cow hormones into a slugger's butt? His 1986 was so magical. What better way to clinch a division than to throw a no hitter? And his winning the NLCS MVP in 1986 despite being on the losing side shows the voters knew what the Mets also knew: If the series was going seven games it was going to be won by the Astros. Surprise! His number is retired! Roger Clemens: Oh was I supposed to NOT include Clemens? Really? The guy won a Cy Young Award in 2004 his first year in Houston and then in the 2005 pennant winning season finished with a sub 2.00 ERA. Yeah sure he had some help, but he was doing it against juiced hitters... and he was in a hitters ballpark. Besides, I can't be holier than thou about all of this 'roids stuff. I have to do one of these lists for the A's and if I eliminated the juicers I'd have a thin list! Joe Niekro: Between Clemens injecting stuff and Mike Scott scuffing balls, there are a bunch of cheaters on this list. Better include Joe Niekro who was caught with a file in his pocket while a member of the Twins. The brother of Hall of Famer Phil Niekro, Joe had his best seasons in Houston. He won 20 games in back to back seasons and in 1979 finished second to Bruce Sutter in the Cy Young voting. He pitched 10 shutout innings in game 3 of the 1980 NLCS. His reward? A no decision. Thanks Astrodome! Mike Hampton: My decision to put Mike Hampton on the acquired team for the Mets was kind of controversial. I am almost afraid to put him here! But his 22-4 record in 1999 was one of the best seasons in Astros history and he finished second in the Cy Young voting that year. Plus he was both a Gold Glove caliber pitcher who won the Silver Slugger award in 1999 when he batted .311 with 10 RBI. HE BATTED .311 WITH 22 WINS!!!! No doubt I will get trashed for putting him on this list! Danny Darwin: According to Darwin's Baseball-Reference page he had two nicknames: The Bonham Bullet and Dr. Death. Please write in to [email protected] if you EVER used those names in reference to Darwin. He split his time between the rotation and the bullpen, winning 11 games and saving 7 with a 2.36 ERA all in relief in 1989. The next year he won 11 games again, with 31 relief appearances and 17 starts and barely qualified for the ERA title by less than an inning. He won it with a 2.21 ERA and the Red Sox rewarded him with a huge contract. When he was with the Red Sox I don't recall the names Bonham Bullet nor Dr. Death. Larry Andersen: Mister Anderrrrrrrrrrrrrrsen! It just makes the Bagwell trade even more cruel that I would list him here. He was cut by the Phillies and the Andersen took a flier on him. And he became an effective set up man for Dave Smith, pitched in the 1986 NLCS and won 9 games out of the pen out in 1987. He had a sub 2.00 ERA in 1989 and 1990, which made the Red Sox think "Hey! Let's give up Jeff Bagwell for him!" Not a bad bounty for a guy they took a flier on. Hal Woodeshick: Woodeshick's name kept popping up when I was looking at Astros fans listing their All Time teams, so I decided to check him out. He was a starter on the original Colt .45 team in 1962. The next season shifted to the bullpen and a trip to the All Star Game. He won 11 games and saved 10 for a team that only won 66. He kept his ERA down to 1.97 that year and followed it up with a 23 save season the next year. He finished his career with the 1967 World Champion Cardinals but clearly made an impression on Houston fans. And it is only right we honor a few Colt .45s here! Jim Umbricht: Another tragic figure in Astros history, Umbricht was developing into a solid middle reliever with an ERA in the 2.00 range. He was a member of the original Colt .45 team and along with Woodeshick was turning the pen into a strength for the young team. However he had tumors in his leg and was found to be suffering from lymphoma. He died just before the 1964 season and the Colt .45s honored him by retiring his number. A lot more tragedy and retired numbers than I was expecting to write about. I think the rest of this blog entry will be cheery. Fred Gladding: Gladding came over from Detroit in a trade involving Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews. No I didn't know Mathews played in Houston either. The things you learn putting these crazy lists together. Gladding led the National League with 29 saves in 1969. That was the year that the Seattle Pilots sent Jim Bouton to Houston to finish the season. If you don't know what I am talking about, please read Ball Four and thank me later. Art Howe: A steady infielder during the 1970s, Art Howe seemed to have put it all together during the strike shortened 1981 season. He got a little bit of MVP consideration and kept his average around .300 all year. He helped the Astros in their post strike run to a playoff berth, including a 5 run batted in game on August 26 in Shea Stadium. His time managing the Astros was... well let's just say wasn't considered to be "the good times" in Houston. Denis Menke: A valuable infielder, Menke found a way to drive in 90+ runs in back to back seasons at the Astrodome. No easy feat! He made back to back All Star teams in 1969 and 1970 before being shipped off with Joe Morgan and company to Cincinnati. He had bad luck in terms of winning a ring. The Reds traded him back to the Astros in 1974 and the Reds would win it in 1975. Billy Hatcher: That crazy extra inning game 6 of the 1986 NLCS got even crazier when Billy Hatcher came up with the Astros losing 4-3 in the bottom of the 14th. The Mets were 2 outs away from the World Series with Jesse Orosco on the mound. Hatcher homered off of the screen on the left field foul pole sending the place into hysterics and keeping alive the hope of a Mike Scott pitched game 7. It didn't happen, but don't blame Hatcher who went 3-7 with 2 RBI in the game. Carlos Beltran: Oh boo him all you want now, Houston fans. And go ahead... remind me he was only in Houston for 1/2 a season. What a half a season, folks! He smacked 23 homers in only 90 games for the Astros in the regular season... but he turned the playoffs into a one man salary drive. He hit 4 homers with a .455 average and a 1.591 OPS in the Division Series against Atlanta. He followed that up with a .417 average and 1.521 OPS and 4 more homers in the NLCS. And sprinkle in a few sparkling catches as well and you have a Hell of an October. Admit it Houston fans... you boo him because you want him back! Brad Ausmus: Brad Ausmus is a free agent now and watch him go to the Tigers. He's had two stints with the Tigers and two with the Astros. For a while it seemed like he was on the Detroit to Houston shuttle. He's spent the last 8 seasons in Houston winning 3 Golden Gloves and hitting a key game tying homer in the 18 inning Division Series marathon against the Braves. He'll end up somewhere... and then no doubt come back to Houston. Jose Lima: Oh there are probably a bunch of players I could put into the 25th man spot... but who was more fun than Jose Lima? Seriously he pitched like a lunatic. He was animated. He said things like "It's Lima Time!" and when he couldn't make the starting rotation of a dreadful Tigers team declared "I must be the worst pitcher on Earth." He had a pair of terrific seasons with the Astros including a 21-10 season for the 1999 Division Champs. He's out of baseball after being kicked around the bigs (and throwing a complete game shutout for the Dodgers in the 2004 Division Series) and playing in Korea. He's supposedly going to start a singing career. I'd buy his CD. No doubt it would be animated! --

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