HOUSTON -- Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell, a pair of Hall of Famers, are ranked first and second in many of the Astros' all-time offensive charts -- including games played, at-bats, runs, hits, doubles, RBIs, extra-base hits, walks and strikeouts. Biggio is third, behind Bagwell and Lance Berkman, in home runs. Slowly but surely, Jose Altuve is making his way up the charts, continuously reaching and surpassing milestones, such as swiping his 300th career base on Saturday. Only Cesar Cedeno (487) and Biggio (414) have more stolen bases with the Astros. "It's always good to get a milestone like that," Altuve said. "I think we are in the wrong time to be thinking about stats, because we're trying to win games and cover some of the ground we lost in the beginning. I'm very happy and thankful for this kind of stuff." Now that Altuve has signed a five-year contract extension that will keep him an Astros uniform through the 2029 season (he will turn 39 that year), let's assess his chances of jumping ahead of Bagwell and Biggio on some of the team's hitting records (Altuve's numbers are entering Wednesday): |
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Games 1. Biggio, 2,850 2. Bagwell, 2,150 3. Jose Cruz, 1,870 4. Altuve, 1,703 Breaking it down: Catching Biggio, who played 20 years in Houston and was on the injured list only once, will be very difficult, if not impossible. Altuve will almost certainly pass Cruz and Bagwell in the next few years, but if he plays in 100 more games in 2024 and in every game from '25-29, he'll still be 238 games shy of reaching Biggio's total. Altuve would have to play into his 40s to catch Biggio. Runs 1. Biggio, 1,844 2. Bagwell, 1,517 3. Altuve, 1,087 Breaking it down: Altuve had 1,062 runs scored entering this year, so averaging 100 runs from 2024-29 would put him at 1,687, with some work to do to catch Biggio. Altuve scored 103 runs in 2022 and 117 in '21 -- his latest healthy seasons -- and he is off to a quick start this year, so don't count him out. Still, it's not likely. |
Hits 1. Biggio, 3,060 2. Bagwell, 2,314 3. Altuve, 2,095 Breaking it down: When Altuve signed his extension to basically spend his whole career in Houston, it gave him a legitimate shot to join Biggio and get 3,000 hits with the Astros. It's very possible. He'd have to average 158 hits from 2024-29 to get there. Altuve entered Wednesday leading the AL with 48 hits. Doubles 1. Biggio, 668 2. Bagwell, 488 3. Altuve, 409 Breaking it down: Biggio had the most doubles by any right-handed hitter in history when he retired, a mark that's since been passed by Albert Pujols. It would take some heavy lifting -- and maybe another year or two tacked onto Altuve's contract -- but he has an outside shot of catching Biggio. He'll likely fly past Bagwell in the next couple of years. Stolen bases 1. Cedeno, 487 2. Biggio, 414 3. Altuve, 300 Breaking it down: Altuve has been running more over the past three years (2022-24) than he did the previous three seasons, but amassing 187 more steals and catching Cedeno would be an average of nearly 32 per season. He could catch Biggio, though, if he averaged 21 steals from 2024-29. |
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TRIVIA Monday was the 26th anniversary of Kerry Wood's 20-strikeout game against the Astros at Wrigley Field. Who had the only hit for Houston? A) Derek Bell B) Brad Ausmus C) Dave Clark D) Ricky Gutierrez |
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After he makes his fifth Major League start on Wednesday night, Astros right-hander Spencer Arrighetti (Houston's No. 3 prospect) will have already pitched at Wrigley Field and Yankee Stadium. Not bad, considering some of his teammates hadn't checked both of those ballparks off the list until last month. "It's not quite the same as Wrigley, but it's a piece of baseball history and it's something that, when you're a kid, that's a venue you can easily dream of pitching in," Arrighetti said of Yankee Stadium. "Some of the greatest to ever toe the rubber have done it there, and to be on that list of people that's been fortunate enough to do so, it means a lot to me." Arrighetti went a career-high 5 2/3 innings on Thursday against Cleveland, giving up two runs and four hits in the best outing of his young career. The Yankees, led by Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, present the biggest challenge yet. Soto was slashing .344/.462/.609 with four homers and 12 RBIs in 17 career games against the Astros, including 9-for-17 in a season-opening sweep in Houston. Judge is .353/.476/.677 with three homers and eight RBIs in his past 10 games. "The Guardians' lineup is very, very different then the Yankees' lineup," Arrighetti said. "There's a lot of damage in the Yankees' lineup, but it's also very right-handed heavy, which makes me a little more comfortable knowing I'll be able to throw some of my better offerings more consistently. I think I only threw two or three sweepers against the Guardians, and that's my 30-percent pitch, usually. In terms of building on it, it's going to be take the same plan, really attack the zone and don't give in, and also get back to the way I typically would pitch. Seeing more righties definitely gives me some more confidence." |
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TRIVIA ANSWER D) Ricky Gutierrez Gutierrez's hit came on an infield single in the third inning of a 2-0 loss to the Cubs. The only other baserunner Wood allowed came when Biggio was hit by a pitch. The Astros put only seven balls in play, including five grounders that never left the infield. "The scouting report at the time from the Minor League guys said the guy's got a decent fastball and an OK curveball, and he's a two-pitch pitcher," Biggio said. "That's not the guy we saw that day." |
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