Favorite Astros Moment: Game 4 of 2005 NLDS

What’s your favorite Astros moment? Granted I have not been around baseball as long as some of the people reading this right now, being that I am only 35 years old. I started watching baseball in 1992 because I kept hearing about this Bagwell guy. My parents were not really into sports. My Mom called baseball a waste of time and my Dad always would yell “touchdown” when the Astros would score a run. So, I don’t have too many childhood memories of baseball, other than hearing of some guy named Nolan Ryan. Some of you reading this may have your own favorite moment, but this is my favorite Astros moment.

It was on October 4, 2005, game 4 of the NLDS versus the Braves. That was the second year in a row that I owned a 27-game season ticket package, which allowed me to purchase playoff tickets. My wife grew up a Braves fan from Georgia, but she quickly converted. My wife and I went to the game with a rally monkey in hand. The game got off to a rocky start when Brandon Backe gave up 5 runs in 4 1/3 innings.

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The once rowdy crowd was quiet with a good Tim Hudson in control of the game giving up only one run through 7 innings. At the beginning of the 8th inning there was a lady who probably had too many adult drinks. She started screaming at all the fans in the section 429 of Minute Maid park to stand up and “support” your team as she “supported” the Astros. My wife and I stood up, and started screaming “support” at our hometown team in a very sarcastic manner. It obviously worked as the Astros scored four runs in the 8^th inning knocking out Tim Hudson and roughing up the closer and future Astro Kyle Farnsworth. But our “support” was running thin with two outs in the 9^th inning with the Braves leading 6-5.

Don’t get me wrong, we were on our feet cheering on our team all game. We were trailing in the 9th with the feeling of here we go again. Then up to bat was our defensive minded catcher, Brad Ausmus. No offense to the future Tiger’s Manager, but if you polled everyone in the stands who they would want at the plate with the game on the line, the last person would probably be Ausmus. But here he was, with the chance to tie the game and send to extra innings.

We “supported” Ausmus, it was the loudest I’ve ever heard the crowd, with the desire to see the confetti on our home turf. I’m not sure what the count was, but Ausmus hit a ball to left center field, one of the deepest parts of the field, I didn’t think it would make it over the fence. I thought, great, a deep fly ball to end the game! But with all the power he had, he willed the ball above the yellow line for a game tying home run. The game was tied, we all stood up and “supported.” We still had a chance!

That was my most memorable Astros moment, because without that home run, the game would not have gone 18 innings. We wouldn’t have had the chance to see The Rocket’s cameo for the last 3 innings, and Chris Burke’s legendary game winning home run would have never happened. The support for the Astros in recent years has dwindled with Jeff Luhnow’s “PROCESS.”

The future is bright right now; the next groups of superstars are already starting to arrive in Jose Altuve, George Springer, and Jon Singleton. The next wave of stars is about a year away. But with the way Houston and its fans erupted in 2005 during the playoffs shows that we will be ready to “support” the Astros when we go back to the contending status. It’s been a long 9 years, but I have never stopped “supporting” the Astros. After that night, my wife lost her voice the next day from “supporting.”

What was your favorite Astros moment?

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