By JJW
Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com on August 17, 1999.
It wasn’t supposed to happen this way! There was Nolan Ryan, at the 1999 Baseball Hall of Fame ceremony, posing with his plaque. We already knew he had chosen the cap of the Texas Rangers for induction. But the scene was still cold, hard reality for Astros fans (for those in Astros garb attending the event, as well as those of us watching it on TV).
Despite Ryan’s recent comments, he had wanted to enter the Hall as an Astro. I still have the Ryan autobiography, “Throwing Heat” (at least, the edition with Nolan as an Astro on the cover), which left no doubt about his desire to someday retire and remain an Astro. What happened in the years that followed has been well-documented…
Some Astros fans may claim they don’t care one whit about Nolan’s snub, or the lack of any plaques with Astros caps in the Hall. Fair enough… but contrast this with the simultaneous ecstasy of Brewers, Royals, and Rangers fans this year. From a Houston fan’s perspective, this double- whammy (Ryan as a Ranger in the Hall, and all three teams, including Texas, reaching this status for the first time) has added insult to injury. The list of teams without a representative in the Hall of Fame is dwindling. And we don’t want our Astros to be known as the only team to not have won a World Series (much less a playoff series!) on top of this indignity.
It comes down to a question of legitimacy, imho. We gripe about the lack of respect for this franchise. But until the Astros accomplish something worthy of a legacy in the eyes of others (aside from the team’s hometown base, and loyal fanatics), they will continue to be dissed and dismissed. Personally, I’m sick of having to explain to people why I’m an Astros fan, what an “Astro” is! (it’s short for Astronauts!), and what the rainbow gut jerseys were about (thrusters/flames colors from NASA rockets). Even with the recent successes and quality of Astros teams, people outside of the Houston area are more likely to see a “broken star” Astros cap on a gang member or style-conscious teenager rather than a true fan.
In case you haven’t figured it out by now, there isn’t a lot we can do about the Astros’ lack of status (short of the public service provided by this site! :-). Regardless, there has been one huge, unquantifiable, and seemingly uncontrollable factor in the history of the Houston Astros, so far… call it “cruel fate,” “bad luck,” or even “the Curse of the Astros.” Whatever its nature, it has played an undeniably important role. Did any of you read the Sports Illustrated a few years ago with the story on J.R. Richard? It was the closest we have come to seeing an Astro Hall of Famer as an Astro! Included was an illustration of the plaque, with J.R. in a Houston cap, his stats and accomplishments projected for the years he would have continued to dominate (ignoring the infamous career-ending stroke).
Frankly, I don’t see this Hall of Fame situation changing any time soon. The earliest possible entries would be Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell. Neither are locks. And each has an uphill road ahead of him, IMHO. I rate Biggio’s chances as less than Bagwell’s, because of Craig’s age, his position (even accounting for his All-Star catching past), and relatively unappetizing power numbers. This is not to take away from Craig Biggio, the ballplayer; already one of the all-time greatest Astros! But, unfortunately, the baseball writers have become too picky and nostalgic with their votes. Remember, we are just a few years removed from the voters refusing to elect even ONE person on their ballots.
The SABR’s (Society for American Baseball Research) Century Survey already lists Craig Biggio as the 181st best major leaguer, past or present. But with maybe only five good years left, he isn’t likely to ever crack their Top 100. Jeff Bagwell is currently ranked below Biggio at 198, but is considered a strong candidate for the later third of the Top 100. Furthermore, since he’s only 31, Bagwell could climb even higher to become one of the game’s very best, all-around/versatile first basemen of all time (based on average, stolen bases, fielding, slugging, baserunning, you name it). Yet, if everything goes right (barring career-ending injuries or drop-off), he might STILL need some help getting into the Hall! Bill James has devised some formula to compute the odds of current players reaching 500 home runs (a benchmark for Hall of Famers, in combination with other sufficient stats). Bagwell is not even considered worth mentioning in published lists of these chances. And Mr. James hasn’t made these methods freely available… or run them again for, say, 400 home runs. As Biggio says in the July 19, 1999 issue of Sports Illustrated, Bagwell “would probably have 350 home runs by now if he didn’t play in the Astrodome.” But since when do the voters for the Hall of Fame take into serious consideration things like ballpark effects? With home run standards being redefined upward every year, it seems, 400, 450, or even 500 (a Herculean task for Bagwell, methinks) might not have the same appeal to the voters 13 or 14 years from now.
One lesson the Houston Astros baseball club seems to have learned (and one we can play a role in reminding them) is to not let franchise players (who should don Astros caps as future Hall of Famers) slip away. Can you imagine being a big Oakland A’s fan facing the seeming inevitability and injustice of Mark McGwire becoming a CARDINALS’ Hall of Fame representative?!… or a Red Sox fan dealing with the nightmare of Clemens and Boggs in the Hall as Yankees?! Step one for the Astros is to take a calculated risk, hedge their bets, and continue inking Bagwell and Biggio to contracts until they retire.
Secondly, we can continue to support the team and these two players through thick and thin… and sing their praises with hype in the Talk Zone, the Astros newsgroup, national publications, etc. Lets make Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio permanently synonymous with the Astros, just like Tony Gwynn is with the Padres, and Cal Ripken, Jr., is with the Orioles.
And last, but not least… we PRAY 😉
I hope to meet you in Cooperstown someday at Jeff Bagwell’s induction into the Hall of Fame AS A HOUSTON ASTRO! Hopefully, the luck of the Astros will have changed by then, and the tradition of having the plaque include the team cap of a player’s choice will still be in effect. I’ll be the guy in an early 1990s (too small) Wal-Mart?! special, Bagwell T-shirt. I’ll also be wearing other assorted Astros articles of clothing… and a perpetual smile 🙂