Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.
Well, I just knew it’d be a matter of time before one of the esteemed columnists around here and I disagreed about something, and I’d have laid money that it’d be Ray K.
Seems Sugar Ray the stat-boy has named an all-star Astros team predicated on the best single season at each position. I know his OPS-ness has concocted a formula of really valid stats like OBA, Sunflower Seed consumption per 9 innings, Center fielder’s ERA, Gamer-ness Quotient, and shoe size to come up with this team.
It’s a noble pursuit, to be sure. To name an all time team that encompasses the best of nearly 40 years of baseball, a lot of which has frankly been mediocre. I think there are some things that can’t be decided by sheer numbers. I think actually watching the games comes into play. I’m not discounting stats by any means, but really any system that puts Mark Bailey on any sort of team that doesn’t have the term “disappointment” in the title is horrifically and ridiculously flawed.
So my task is to put together a team based on my being a life long Astros fan. This is based on numbers I know, stories I have read, tales told to me by my father and, here’s a twist, games I have seen. I have picked out the team that fans would be proud to call their own.
So with no further pomp and circumstance is…
ANDYZIPP’S SINGLE SEASON ASTROS ALL-STARS
The easiest way to do this is position by position. So listed by defensive positions…
Catcher – Alan Ashby (1987) The only goal is to put someone better than Mark Bailey on the field, so this wasn’t really a challenge. Ashby was the most tenured player ever to wear the tools of ignorance for the Astros and for 10 years he was a mainstay when he could stay healthy. 1987 was one of those years. Oddly enough in 87, he was one of few bright spots for a resoundingly disappointing Astros team. Ash hit .288 with 14 homers and 63 RBI in 125 games. He was solid defensively in this, his last gasp. He would retire two years later after playing only 95 games in 88 and 89 and refusing a trade.
First Base – Jeff Bagwell (1994) You don’t have to be a stat geek or a stat god to make this pick. In 1994, the National League MVP had one of the best seasons at any position in any era. Bagwell was on fire to start the season and just kept getting better as the season went on. He was so good that most people forgot that he broke his hand 2 days before the strike that killed baseball. He won the MVP and the strike kept it for him. Bagwell hit a monster .368 in 110 games with 39 homers and 116 RBI. Gave new definition to the term “the Man” as well as winning a Gold Glove.
Second Base – Craig Biggio (1998) I’m aware that Ray and his ilk consider 1997 to be the better of Biggio’s incredible 2 years and you probably could go right either way. But Pigpen gets props for being part of the best team and franchise history and for matching an obscure record with 50 steals and 50 doubles in the same year. He was the heart and soul of the 1998 team, and, along with Moises Alou, carried the team in the early going. His 1998 easily beat out anything that I saw Billy Doran or (heard about) Joe Morgan do in an Astros uniform.
Third Base – Doug Rader (1970) This was a difficult choice for me until I remembered some of the stories I’ve heard and the films I watched regarding Rader. My first instinct was Ken Caminiti, who’s always been one of my favorite Astros. But Rader was just as tough (if not tougher) just as good defensively and did more with his talent. He also gets credit for being one of 3 Astros to hit a ball in the upper deck of the Dome (and one of only 2 Astros who’s careers were worth a damn). Rader’s 70 was as good as any in Astros history, as he hit .252 with 25 (non-flower aided) homers and 87 RBI in 156 games. Sorry Cammy, but the Red Rooster had it all over you. Although either would be a damn sight better than Dave Magadan…
Shortstop – Dickie Thon (1983) Mike Torrez should burn in hell. Well, all the Mets should, but Torrez specifically. Thon is the 3rd most tragic loss this franchise has ever had after Don Wilson and JR Richard. Only 25 years old in 1983, Thon hit .286 with 20 homers and 79 RBI for a pretty pitiful Astros team. He gave the Houston Brass some notion that they could build around he and Doran as a double play combo for the next 10 years or so. Torrez ended that hope the next year, but no player at short ever did as much as Thon did in 1983.
Left Field – Jose Cruz (1983) One of the most beloved players in Houston Astros history, he was also the only other truly bright spot for the 1983 team, because he was the only .300 hitter anywhere near the Dome that year. He was the epitome of what Houstonians want from their warriors. He gave his all on the field, he was humble off of it, he gave to the community, and he honestly seemed to love being an Astro. One of the most bittersweet moments was watching Jose cry after the Phillies stole the 1980 NLCS. You almost felt like he cared as much as you did. 1983 was his career year, as Cheo hit .318 with 14 homers and 92 RBI in 160 games. The best part of going to the games was getting to say his name.
Center Field – Cesar Cedeno (1972) Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio have long since stole the title of Best Astro ever, and it seems all I ever heard about him growing up was that he sold his talent short, but there’s no way you could have an all time Astros team of any sort without him being on the field. A true five-tool player, Cedeno was slick in the field, money at the plate, and one of the best dressers on the team. He made orange a color that was cool to wear and was our first real super-star. In 1972, all he did was hit .320 with 22 homers and 82 RBI. He was the player I wanted to be when we picked sides in the neighborhood.
Right Field – Jimmy Wynn (1969) Have you ever hit a ball onto a freeway? Have you ever hit the freeway from Home Plate of a major league stadium? Jimmy Wynn did, out of Crosley Field in Cincinnati. In one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen live or on tape, Wynn took a 1-2 pitch out of the stadium, carried the street and landed on the Expressway. Wynn didn’t play in a Flower-aided Dome, and he didn’t really play with any other power threats, but the Toy Cannon would still pop with regularity and in 1969, he did it 33 times, (and owned the club record at 37 until 1994.) He only hit .269 this year, but was on base 44% of the time and added 87 RBI in 149 games. The other Astro whose career was worth a damn that want upper deck in the Dome.
And finally, maybe the hardest pick to make…
Pitcher – James Rodney Richard (1979) With all the pitchers I could have chosen, from Dierker to Niekro to Ryan to Scott, there’s no one I’d pay more to see pitch one more game in his prime that JR Richard. He was what my former coach called a calendar setter. You’d arrange your life to watch him pitch. The Dome was a different place when he toed the rubber and you just knew that you were watching something special. I don’t know what formula Ray used to come up with Ryan’s 1981 (I’m not much of a reader) and no disrespecting the Old Man, but no one struck as much fear into the heart of a batter as Richard. Richard’s 1979, tragically his last full season in Baseball, struck out 313 batters while walking only 98 in 293 innings. He won 18 games and sported a 2.71 ERA. And there’s no one in Astros’ history that deserves this start more.
So Ray, the challenge remains. Who would win in a one game exhibition? Ray’s Abacus Astros or Andy’s Houston Anectodals? I like my chances pretty well, thanks.
Astro of the Week…Craig Biggio Flushed with the honor of being named to my all time team should be enough, but if you prove me wrong, you have my undying admiration (you hear that Derek Bell?!?) but dude has 23 hits in his last 44 at-bats. Since the last game in Minnesota, he has raised his average by nearly 40 points and more importantly, he seems to be re-energized. Whether it’s the fantasy snub he received or the 3 days of rest or the fact that he just nutted it up, Pigpen is back to his old self.
DisAstro of the Week…The Astros Medical Staff I know they’ve had to deal with more in 3 months than most teams deal with in 3 years, but fluid does not drain off a calf by itself. We’ll never know for sure, but if Cammy could have been back any sooner by draining the fluid any earlier, someone?s heads need to roll.
