HOUSTON -- This week marked the 10th anniversary of Craig Biggio being elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, becoming the first player to wear an Astros cap on his plaque. After falling two votes shy in 2014, Biggio received 82.7 percent of the vote in 2015 and was inducted in July. Biggio was joined in Cooperstown, N.Y., two years later by longtime teammate Jeff Bagwell, who received 86.2 percent of the vote in his seventh year on the ballot. Bagwell became the 50th player in history to be inducted having played with only one team. Biggio and Bagwell could be joined in the Hall of Fame by former Astros closer Billy Wagner, who will find out Jan. 21 if he received enough votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America to make it in his 10th and final year on the ballot. In his ninth year on the ballot, Wagner fell five votes shy. Wagner's case is a strong one. He had a career 2.31 ERA in 903 innings -- the second-lowest ERA in the Modern Era (since 1900) for pitchers with at least 900 innings. His 11.92 strikeouts per nine innings and .187 opponents' batting average are the best career totals of any pitcher in AL/NL history with at least 900 innings. "As far as where I'm sitting, there's nobody better or as dominant as Billy Wagner was," Bagwell said last year. |
If Wagner gets inducted into the Hall of Fame this year, which is likely, it remains to be seen which cap he will wear on his plaque. Drafted in the first round by the Astros in 1993, Wagner came up through the Houston system as a starting pitcher before making the transition to reliever following a call-up in 1995. He saved a club-record 225 games in his nine years with the Astros (1995-03), making three All-Star teams and finishing fourth in the 1999 National League Cy Young Award voting. The Astros traded Wagner to the Phillies in 2003, and he had another All-Star season in '05, saving 38 games. Wagner went on to record 101 saves in four seasons for the Mets, making the All-Star team in 2007 and '08. He notched his 300th career save with the Mets in '06 and made three more All-Star teams after that. He saved 37 games in his final year in the big leagues with the Braves in 2010. Wagner would become the 11th player who spent time with the Astros if he's elected to the Hall of Fame. Here is the list (not including Biggio and Bagwell): |
Ivan Rodriguez: Having played 2,543 games in his 21-year career, including 1,507 with the Rangers, Rodriguez played 93 games for the Astros in '09 and hit .251 with eight homers and 34 RBIs in 327 at-bats with the Astros. Randy Johnson: Traded from the Mariners in 1998, Johnson went 10-1 with a 1.28 ERA in 11 starts, helping the Astros capture the NL Central title with a club-record 102 wins. The Astros lost to the Padres in the NLDS, despite Johnson allowing four runs (three earned) and striking out 17 batters in 14 innings. Don Sutton: Coming off an ERA title with the Dodgers in 1980 -- where he spent the first 15 seasons of his career -- Sutton went 11-9 with a 2.61 ERA in 23 starts with the Astros in 1981, a season that ended when he broke his kneecap while batting against former teammate Jerry Reuss. Sutton went 13-8 in 27 starts in '82 before Houston traded him to the Brewers. |
Nolan Ryan: Ryan played nine of his 27 seasons with the Astros (1980-88), winning 106 games and throwing his record-breaking fifth no-hitter (1981) and breaking Walter Johnson's all-time strikeout record (3,508) in 1983 while with Houston. Robin Roberts: The right-hander was nearing the end of his 19-year career when he spent parts of two seasons with the Astros, going 8-7 with a 2.77 ERA in 23 games (22 starts) in 1965 and '66. Joe Morgan: Morgan played 10 of his 22 Major League seasons with the Astros (1963-71, '80), but those two stints were bookends of his most productive seasons as part of Cincinnati's Big Red Machine of the 1970s. Eddie Mathews: One of the greatest third basemen in history, Mathews was traded to the Astros prior to the 1967 season and slugged his 500th career homer, which came off Juan Marichal of the Giants. Nellie Fox: A 12-time All-Star and league MVP (1959) for the White Sox, the diminutive second baseman spent his final two seasons (1964-65) in Houston for the Colt .45s and the Astros. |
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BOETTCHER TO REMAIN IN OREGON |
Bryce Boettcher, the Astros' 13th-round pick in last year's MLB Draft, won't report to Spring Training this year, choosing instead to return to the University of Oregon to play football next season. The Astros said Boettcher was given the option of reporting to Spring Training and then returning to Oregon in time for the start of the 2025 college season. Boettcher played 14 games (13 starts) last season for Oregon's football team, leading the team with 94 tackles. The Ducks won their first 13 games and were the No. 1-ranked team in the nation before losing to Ohio State, 41-21, in the Rose Bowl, ending their season. The Astros said Boettcher told them that he intends to re-evaluate his options following next football season, including reporting to Spring Training in 2026. The Astros, who retain his rights, plan to place him on the restricted list. |
ASTROS-BRAVES A 'HIDDEN CLASSIC' |
In its new series "Hidden Classics," MLB is digging into its archives and dusting off big games you might have forgotten about from your favorite stars of yesteryear, including the Astros' 18-inning, six-hour marathon win over the Braves in Game 4 of the 2005 NLDS. Stay tuned to MLB.com/HiddenClassics and MLB's YouTube channel for more Hidden Classic games. |
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