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Whose number will the Houston Astros retire next?
Currently, the Houston Astros have ten jerseys hanging up at Minute Maid Park: Larry Dierker (#49), Jackie Robinson (#42), Don Wilson (#40), Nolan Ryan (#34), Mike Scott (#33), Jim Umbricht (#32), Jose Cruz (#25), Jimmy Wynn (#24), Craig Biggio (#7), and Jeff Bagwell (#5). Each one of those players, besides Robinson, performed at a very high level as a member of the Astros and each represent different periods of Houston baseball.
Now, with the team in a new era and starting to turn things around, I think it’s even more important to continue to respect and honor the past legends of the franchise. Owner Jim Crane has done a nice job keeping former players like Biggio, Bagwell, Adam Everett, Morgan Ensberg and more around the organization, but now I think it’s time to retire the next Astros’ jersey.
For the sake of argument, we will look at five possible candidates: Mike Hampton, Roy Oswalt, Lance Berkman, Brad Ausmus, and Billy Wagner. I clearly chose players from the last decade or so because there’s no point in arguing over guys like Joe Morgan, Joe Niekro, J.R. Richard, and Cesar Cedeno at this point. Whether you agree or disagree with the organization’s decision, the time to retire those numbers has most likely passed.
Guys who “just missed the cut” for various reasons (ex: too short of a stint with the Astros, jersey is retired somewhere else, still in the league, etc.) were Richard Hidalgo, Moises Alou, Roger Clemens, Andy Pettite, Wandy Rodriguez, Brad Lidge, and Hunter Pence. Remember, for the Astros to retire a number, it has to mean something to the city and organization. Although I think the final choices are obvious, let’s break down the five most likely candidates one-by-one.
Mike Hampton
Mike Hampton being on this list is probably a surprise to some fans, but I think he at least deserves to be mentioned as a possible candidate. He was traded to the Astros in 1994 and became a starter for them in 1995. Hampton kept his ERA under 4.00 in each of his five seasons with the Astros and finished second in NL Cy Young voting in 1999 (Randy Johnson). That year, Hampton was 22-4 (good for best in the NL) with a 2.90 ERA and won his first of five Sliver Slugger Awards (which is the record for most by an MLB pitcher).
Hampton was traded from the Astros to the Mets in 2000, but returned to Houston on a one-year deal in 2008. He underwent full rotator cuff surgery in September 2009 and then retired from baseball in 2011 after attempting a comeback with the Diamondbacks. He spent four years in Atlanta, two in Colorado, and one each in Arizona, New York, and Seattle in 17-year career. Hampton was only with the Astros from 1994-99 and then again in 2009, but his impact as an All-Star pitcher deserves consideration. In seven seasons with Houston, Hampton was 76-50 with a 3.59 ERA and 1.37 WHIP in 172 starts. In the end, however, I don’t think he will get his jersey retired in Houston.
Roy Oswalt
Roy Oswalt pitched nine and a half seasons with the Astros from 2001-10 and went 143-82 with a 3.24 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. He was the ace of the Astros staff for almost a decade and posted back-to-back 20-win seasons in 2004 and 2005 with a 2.94 ERA. The Astros drafted Oswalt as a 23rd round pick in 1996 and he made his major league debut in 2001. That season, Oswalt went 12-2 with a 2.82 ERA in 20 starts and finished second to Albert Pujols in Rookie of the Year voting. He was also considered by many to be one of the five best pitchers in all of baseball when he managed to make three consecutive All-Star games from 2005-07.
Oswalt is one of only 10 pitchers to have won at least 11 games each year from 2004 to 2008 and he finished in the top-5 for CY Young voting each of those seasons. My favorite part about Roy O. was his calm demeanor on the mound. No moment was ever too big for him and he always worked quickly against his opponents. Oswalt finished his career pitching with the Phillies, Braves, Rockies, and Rangers, but never regained his Houston-form. He was the best pitcher on one of the greatest Astros teams of all-time (2005) and a key component for many of Houston’s playoff runs. He ranks second in Astros history in wins and winning percentage and dominated every year he pitched in Houston. Number 44 is one of my choices to have his jersey retired and definitely deserves to be hanging up at Minute Maid Park soon.
Lance Berkman
The Big Puma was drafted 16th overall by the Astros in 1997 out of Rice University. During his first season on the Astros (1999), Berkman was forced to switch from his long-time first base spot to the outfield. Bagwell was still playing first and Berkman needed to adapt if he wanted to play. The young slugger really broke on the scene in 2001 when he hit .331 and drove in 126 runs. That season, he also hit 34 home runs and led the league in doubles with 55. He made the All-Star team in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008 and was in the MVP discussion numerous times throughout his career. Berkman’s best season was in 2006 when he hit .315 with 45 home runs and had 136 RBIs, breaking the Astros single season record. He played two years with St. Louis and spent one season with both the Yankees and Rangers before retiring in 2013.
I will never forget the year he had in 2005 when he fueled the Astros offense to the World Series. I was at NLDS Game 4 when the Astros were down 6-1 to the Braves in the 8th inning and Berkman hit a grand slam. That game was the infamous 18-inning affair that ended on a Chris Burke home run. All that could have never happened without Berkman. In the World Series that year, Lance hit .385 with two doubles and 6 RBI’s. He is in the Top-10 in almost every Astros’ category and in the Top-5 in many (only Bagwell and Biggio rank higher than Berkman in almost every offensive categories.) I will always remember Berkman as one of the greatest switch-hitters of all-time and an Astros legend. In 12 seasons with the franchise, he hit .296/.410/.549 with 326 home runs, 1090 RBIs, 1648 hits, 1049 walks, 1121 strikeouts, and 375 doubles. Berkman is my pick as the next players to get his jersey retired.
Brad Ausmus
Another name that may surprise some people, but certainly deserves to be in the conversation is Brad Ausmus. He is Houston’s all-time leader at catcher in games (1,259), starts (1,119), hits (970), and runs (415). He never put up monster numbers at the plate, but was one of the best leaders in the dugout and a brillant defensive player. Ausmus played over 10 years in the majors without ever going on the disabled list and he is one of only eight catchers in major league history to get 1,500 hits and steal at least 100 bases. He left the Astros in 2008 to go be closer to home with the Los Angles Dodgers, but retired in 2010. In his 10 seasons in Houston, he finished batting .246/.318/327 with 41 home runs, 386 RBIs, 970 hits, 396 walks, and 629 strikeouts.
Ausmus finished his career ranked third in major league history with 12,839 putouts as a catcher, trailing only Iván Rodríguez and Jason Kendall, seventh in games caught with 1,938, and 10th in both range factor/game (7.12) and fielding percentage (.994). For his career, he threw out 30.2% of potential basestealers. Ausmus also played a handful of games at first base, second base, third base, and shortstop without making an error. He had played in the postseason five times, all with the Astros, including the 2005 World Series. In that infamous Game 4 of the 2005 NLDS against the Braves, Ausmus homered with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to tie the game at 6–6 and send it to extra innings. (He also caught 17 innings, as well as playing one inning at first base). Currently, Ausmus is the Tigers’ manager and will probably not get his jersey retired by Houston anytime soon.
Billy Wagner
Finally, there’s a case to be made for the best closer in Astros history: Billy Wagner. “Billy the Kid” is fifth all-time in the MLB in saves and 255 of his 422 career saves came as a member of the Astros. Other then Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman, Wagner might be the best closer from the last 25 years of baseball. From 1995-2003, opposing teams feared facing the Astros in the ninth inning because of Wagner’s fastball. He was a seven-time All-Star and had a 2.31 career ERA in 15 major league seasons. He has the record of 15 strikeouts per 9 innings that he set in 1999. Perhaps his best season was 2003 when he had a career-high 44 saves and threw a league leading 159 pitches at 100 mph or above (second was Bartolo Colon with 12). He finished his career serving short stints with the Mets, Phillies, Braves, and Red Sox before retiring in 2010.
Wagner was never apart of any great Astros playoffs runs and eventually criticized the front office for that. His most memorable moment was on June 11, 2003 when he closed out the Astros no-hitter at Yankee Stadium. It took six pitchers, but it was the only time the Yankees had been no-hit since 1958. Wagner was actually born right-handed but broke his arm as a kid and taught himself to throw lefty. Now, he is one considered of the greatest left-handed pitchers in MLB history. In his nine seasons with the Astros, Wagner collected 225 saves, 694 strikeouts, 191 walks, and a 12.4 SO/9 innings ratio while maintaing a 2.53 ERA. I don’t the Astros will end up retiring his number, but Wagner certainly has a place in Houston baseball history.