Astros’ All-Time Best Seasons: Third Base

Mar 31, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; General view of the Opening Day logo on bases before a game between the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

This is the fourth edition of our Astros’ All-Time Best Seasons Series. Over the 50 years of Houston Astros baseball, the starting third basemen have generally not been named as the stars of the team, but have been extremely important pieces in the lineup and have contributed significantly during postseason runs.

Recently, the Astros have been through a tough run at the hot corner. Although Matt Dominguez has shown some promising power throughout the past two seasons, he hasn’t been one of the best hitters on the team. Before Matty D, Astros fans had to suffer through what was essentially a new experiment every season with Chris Johnson, Mike Lamb, Ty Wigginton, and even a brief stint with Pedro Feliz.

Essentially, it has been about 10 years since the Morgan Ensberg days where the Astros had an every day third baseman who could contribute to the lineup every day. This is sad considering the list of third basemen that have come through the league in this span (Evan Longoria, David Wright, Pablo Sandoval, Adrian Beltre, etc.). Anyway, here’s the list that I could come up with over 53 years of baseball in Houston.

Please click through the candidates and vote for your All-Time Best at the end.

Next: 1977: Enos Cabell

Jul 26, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Baseballs lay in the dugout between the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

1977: Enos Cabell

The 1977 Houston Astros finished in 3rd place in the NL West, with a record of 81-81. The consistent producer of the lineup was Enos Cabell at third base.

His stats from Baseball Reference:

• .282 BA (7th among 3B in MLB)
• .438 SLG (8th among 3B in MLB)
• 16 HR
• 68 RBI
• 176 Hits (T-1st among 3B in MLB)
• 36 doubles (T-1st among 3B in MLB)
• 42 stolen bases (1st among 3B in MLB)
• 140 putouts (1st among 3B in NL)

That season, the stars were J.R. Richard, who struck out 214 batters, and Jose Cruz, who had a .299 batting average and 44 stolen bases.  But, Cabell played 150 games and was a consistent producer with a 2.8 WAR. Considering the fact that the Astrodome was definitely not a hitter’s park, it’s very impressive to see that Enos was able to finish in the top 10 in slugging for his position as well as hit 16 home runs. It’s equally impressive that he was able to have 42 stolen bases, showing off an always valuable combination of speed and power, especially from the third base position.

Enos Cabell would go on to play three more seasons in Houston before joining the San Francisco Giants for a year and then the Detroit Tigers for two years. He would return to Houston for two years from 1984-1985 before retiring shortly afterwards in 1986. He finished his career with 1,647 hits, 238 stolen bases, and a .277 batting average. In the end, Enos Cabell would never hit for more home runs, steal more bases, score more runs, or hit more doubles than he did in 1977.

Next: 1994: Ken Caminiti

1994: Ken Caminiti

The Houston Astros had a great season in the shortened strike year, compiling a 66-49 record. That record had them in 2nd place in the NL Central, only trailing the Cincinnati Reds by half a game for the division lead. What propelled the Astros to that solid record was their hitting, leading the National League in doubles and runs batted in. Besides Jeff Bagwell‘s career year and Craig Biggio‘s always stellar performance, Ken Caminiti had a great year from third base.

Here are his stats from Baseball Reference:

• .283 BA (10th among 3B in MLB)
• .495 SLG (4th among 3B in MLB)
• 115 hits (7th among 3B in MLB)
• 28 doubles (2nd among 3B in MLB)
• 18 home runs (T-5th among 3B in MLB)
• 75 RBI (T-5th among 3B in MLB)
• 63 runs (5th among 3B in MLB)
• Only 9 errors in 108 games played

Recognizing that this was a shortened season and Caminiti’s numbers might not seem as impressive as the other candidates mentioned, I made sure to compare his stats to the other third basemen around the league who played 70+ games that year. Also, I projected what Caminiti’s numbers might have looked like if a 162 game season was played.

My projections came up with 25 home runs, 162 hits, 106 RBI, 89 runs, 39 doubles, and only 13 errors. Considering the numbers that were actually put up and the projections that I made, you have to put Ken Caminiti’s 1994 season as one of the Astros’ all-time best.

I will admit, however, that it’s difficult to realize the impact that Caminiti had when Biggio and Bagwell were both coming up with numbers that season that were simply amazing.

Next: 2003: Morgan Ensberg

2003: Morgan Ensberg

Feb 21, 2014; Tampa, FL, USA; Houston Astros staff Morgan Ensberg poses for a picture during photo day at Osceola County Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The 2003 Houston Astros went through a roller coaster ride of a season. The team executed a six-pitcher no hitter in June at Yankee Stadium, took a division-leading 50-44 record into the All Star break with dominant closer Billy Wagner, and ultimately collapsed during the final games of the regular season, finishing in 2nd place in the NL Central at 87-75 ,only 1 game behind the Chicago Cubs.

Besides the bullpen, a key to the Astros’ success in 2003 was their lineup. With Jeff Kent, Lance Berkman, Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, and Richard Hidalgo, the Astros seemed stacked with hitting talent. But, one of the unsung heroes in 2003 for the Astros was third baseman Morgan Ensberg, who had a breakout season.

Here are Ensberg’s 2003 statistics from Baseball Reference:

• .291 BA (7th among 3B in MLB)
• .377 OBP (6th among 3B in MLB)
• .530 SLG (4th among 3B in MLB)
• .907 OPS (6th among 3B in MLB)
• 25 HR (9th among 3B in MLB)
• 48 BB (11th among 3B in MLB)
• Named NL Player of the Week on June 8, 2003
• Only 9 errors committed in 111 games played at 3B

Morgan Ensberg made an immediate impact in his first full season with the Astros and really took off from there. He was an important piece to the Astros’ postseason push in 2003 and in their run to the NLCS in 2004. Although there would definitely be better days ahead with the Astros, Ensberg set a strong foundation with his 2003 season.

Next: 1972: Doug Rader

1972: Doug Rader  

The 1972 Houston Astros, led by Jimmy Wynn, Don Wilson, and Cesar Cedeno, posted an 84-69 record and a 2nd place finish in the NL West. New manager Leo Durocher gave the Astros a spark, finishing with a winning record after a few years staying around .500.

Also, a new power surge emerged in Houston after the Astrodome’s fences were shortened during the offseason. Doug Rader, the Astros’ third baseman that season, was no exception to the group of Astros who benefitted from the shortened fences. Here are Rader’s 1972 stats from Baseball Reference:

• .237 BA (13th among 3B in MLB)
• .425 SLG (4th among 3B in MLB)
• 70 runs scored (2nd among 3B in MLB)
• 131 hits (6th among 3B in MLB)
• 24 doubles (T-4th among 3B in MLB)
• 7 triples (1st among 3B in MLB)
• 22 HR (2nd among 3B in MLB)
• 90 RBI (1st among 3B in MLB)
• Only took 1 day off! (Played in 152 of 153 games)
• NL Gold Glove Award Winner at 3B

One can definitely argue that Doug Rader benefitted the most out of any 1972 Astro from the shortened fences. Rader was almost a completely different player in ’72, finishing with 10 more HR, 34 more RBI, and a slugging percentage .47 points higher.

Any way you slice it, Doug Rader had a career year for the Houston Astros in 1972. While drastically improving his offensive output, Rader was able to continue his exemplary defensive play at third base and only missed 1 game during the whole season. Heck, if I was having a year like that, I would want to play a double header every day!

Next: 2005: Morgan Ensberg

2005: Morgan Ensberg

The magical 2005 season for the Houston Astros was filled with plenty of surprises. One fact that surprised me as I was researching for this article was that Morgan Ensberg was named the Houston Astros Most Valuable Player for 2005. With big names like Jeff Bagwell, Lance Berkman, Craig Biggio, Brad Lidge, Roger Clemens, Roy Oswalt, and Andy Pettitte all on the roster, who would have thought that Morgan Ensberg was the MVP for the Astros that year? Not me! No disrespect to Ensberg, but my initial thought was Oswalt for sure.

Anyway, here are Morgan Ensberg’s 2005 stats from Baseball Reference:

• .283 BA (17th among 3B in MLB)
• .388 OBP (4th among 3B in MLB)
• .557 SLG (4th among 3B in MLB)
• 86 Runs (T-6th among 3B in MLB)
• 149 Hits
• 36 HR (3rd among 3B in MLB)
• 101 RBI (T-5th among 3B in MLB)
• 85 BB (2nd among 3B in MLB)
• NL All-Star
• NL Silver Slugger
• Named NL Player of the Week on July 3, 2005

Looking back on it, I had completely forgotten that Morgan Ensberg had this great of a year in 2005. That’s probably due to the fact that I was nine years old then, but that’s still no excuse. Ensberg without a doubt in my mind was correctly named the Astros’ Most Valuable Player in 2005 and was a major contributor to the World Series run. Finishing in the top 5 in HR at your position in the “Steroid Era” is very impressive, especially when you look back on the great pitching that was in the NL Central in 2005.

Overall, Morgan Ensberg’s 2005 season was definitely one of the best that I have seen from an Astro at the third base position. It is extremely disappointing that the Houston Astros haven’t been able to replicate that kind of offensive production from third base in the last ten years. However, I  think that we will see this kind of production when Colin Moran gets up to the Major Leagues in the near future.

Next: Vote: Best All-Time Season at 3B