Astros’ All-Time Best Seasons: Managers

It is the eleventh and final of our Astros’ All-Time Best Seasons Series. I like to say we have saved the best for last, but it is dependent on your viewpoint. Some say the manager in baseball is absolutely pivotal, some say the manager does not do much but fill out a lineup card. I fall somewhere in between on that figure.

The Astros have fielded managers like Bo Porter who really did not have a chance from the start, to Larry Dierker who had more talent already in his lap then anyone could ask for. Grading managers is not an exact science, but I will do my best to highlight the top five managerial years in Houston Astros history. Hope you are reading A.J. Hinch!

Before we get started, feel free to review the excellent and heavily debated posts below.

• Catchers
• First basemen
• Second basemen
• Third basemen
• Shortstops
• Leftfielders
• Centerfielders
• Rightfielders
• Starting pitchers
• Closers

Next: 1998: Larry Dierker

1972: Harry Walker and Leo Durocher

Oct 9, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; General aerial view of the downtown Houston skyline and the Toyota Center and Minute Maid Park before the NFL game between the Indianapolis Colts against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Houston Astros baseball had never seen a winning season, and the newness was starting to wear off. Things changed in 1972, and despite a multi-manager year we have to honor the first winning season in Houston at 84-69. We do not hang 1972 up in the championship rafters, but we should celebrate the first success this organization had. Under Harry Walker the Astros compiled a 67-54 record and found themselves in third place on August 26th. Hall of Famer Leo Durocher took over the Astros managing duties for the final 31 games and went 17-15.

The Astros fell short of a playoff spot by 10 1/2 games to the Cincinnati Reds, but claimed second place in the National League West. The Astros attack was a collective effort in ’72 with plenty of solid on-base contributors. Jim Wynn and Lee May were the boppers on this unit, cracking 24 and 29 home runs respectively.

However no good lineup can operate without a legitimate top of the order. Cesar Cedeno had a 22 home runs, 82 rbi and a .921 OPS season at the leadoff position. In today’s game he would have been an instant MVP candidate when you factor in the 55 stolen bases and elite defensive abilities. Don Wilson lead the pitching staff with a 2.68 ERA and a whopping 13 complete games. When you look at this roster, it is hard to imagine they did not win more games with these numbers!

The team could not continue to progress in the following years and regressed in 1973 to a 82-80 record. This was the last year of Leo Durocher, and the Astros would wait till the next decade for a playoff birth. The team’s first winning season regardless of split managers, is something these guys should have been extremely proud of during their time.

Next: 2001: Larry Dierker

2001: Larry Dierker

Aug 3, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; A view of the promotional bobble heads featuring former Houston Astros starting pitcher

before the game between the Astros and the Toronto Blue Jays at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

2001 looked like a year the Astros could have easily fizzled out. Larry Dierker in my mind put together his best managerial work of his career leading the Astros to a 93-69 record. The Astros were coming off of a very disappointing 72-90 season and found themselves in transitional state on the pitchers mound. Mike Hampton had left for free agency following the 1999 campaign, Jose Lima had fallen apart thus being traded, and Shane Reynolds was aging quickly.

Two youngsters emerged that absolutely changed the game for the Astros. Wade Miller became the staff workhorse threw 214 innings while compiling a 3.40 era. To add to the story, a rookie by the name of Roy Oswalt dominated the National League from the start. Oswalt pitched eight times out of relief, before making 20 starts and winning 14 games. Roy would become the face of the Houston Astros pitching staff and lead the Astros to an NL Central crown.

Whatever the pitching may have lacked compared to the late 90’s was pretty much made up for by a dynamic offense. Lance Berkman had arrived in full superstar fashion, batting behind Jeff Bagwell and hitting 34 bombs. Bagwell lead the team in home runs with 39, and Moises Alou hit 27 home runs in only 136 games. That power was all set up by Hall of Fame leadoff man Craig Biggio, who had an impressive season returning from season-ending ACL surgery in 2000.

The Astros engaged in a wild NL Central race that ended in a first place tie with the St. Louis Cardinals. Fortunately for the Astros they won the tiebreaker giving the Astros the division and the Cardinals the Wild Card. However the Cardinals would like you to believe they were “Co-Champions.” As sad as this may sound, this was the last Houston Astros division title, and last divisional title as an NL squad.

Larry Dierker did a phenomenal job making this team work. The Astros could have absolutely fell apart with a major transition in the starting rotation, Craig Biggio not playing elite like in the late 90’s, and Moises Alou battling on and off injuries. However, another first round exit spelled an end to Dierker in Astros pinstripes. He would be replaced in 2002 by Jimy Williams who was widely considered a failure by the Astros faithful.

Next: 1986: Hal Lanier

1986: Hal Lanier

Jul 27, 2014; Cooperstown, NY, USA; Hall of Fame player

responds to being introduced during the class of 2014 national baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony at National Baseball Hall of Fame. Mandatory Credit: Gregory J. Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

Who could forget the year of 1986? Well I guess I could because I was not born yet. However I am an Astros historian and I realize how big of a year the ’86 season was. Manager Hal Lanier lead the Astros to a 96-68 record to capture the team’s second NL West title. The Astros appeared to have the magic working that year as Mike Scott pitched a no-no to get the team into postseason play.

The offense was not the most powerful the Astros have ever seen, but one of the more pesky. Kevin Bass, Billy Hatcher, and Bill Doran all stole more than 20 bases. Doran lead the pack with 42. The power guys were slim with Glenn Davis leading the team in both home runs (31) and rbi (101). The team would depend on scoring enough runs to support their elite pitching staff. When I say elite, boy was it good! The Astros front four of Mike Scott, Bob Knepper, Nolan Ryan, and Jim Deshaies all posted seasons with sub 3.50 era’s. Mike Scott’s season would be considered one of the greatest seasons ever pitched by an Astro and his 275 innings of work is ridiculous to imagine. With that workload Scott won 18 games on a 2.22 era.

Hal Lanier certainly had life made easy with the pitching staff, but lets give the guy some credit. In the 80’s making the playoffs is not what it is now. To qualify for a position a team would need to win in the mid 90’s some years just for a hopeful shot! Winning 96 games and finding a way to play into the strength of this offense was absolutely key. Like many Astros seasons it was an unfortunate ending in postseason play in which the Astros fell in six games to those lousy Mets.

Next: 2005: Phil Garner

2005: Phil Garner

Aug 14, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox former player

walks off the field as part of the Red Sox Hall of Fame Class of 2014 before the game against the Houston Astros at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

You would not think I’d leave the most exciting Astros season off of this list right? Of course not! The Astros were in their second season with manager Phil Garner and things looked rough. The team lost Lance Berkman due to injury for the first part of the year, Jeff Bagwell was unable to play, Carlos Beltran went to the Mets, and Jeff Kent left for the Dodgers.

This team had no right being in the playoffs, much less winning a pennant. Phil Garner didn’t believe in just giving up. In a day of analytics, this team of nobody offensive weapons found a way to sneak into the playoffs. On the final day of the season the Astros won the Wild Card position with an 89-73 record, though the story is much juicier than that.

When Phil Garner came to the club midseason in 2004 there was a lot of high praise for his efforts. The unit came within one game of a World Series berth before the St. Louis Cardinals dashed those dreams. After a 15-30 start to the season the writers left the Astros for dead, the fans probably started to leave them for dead, but Phil Garner kept trucking.

Nearing .500 by the All-Star break the team had caught rapid momentum. Much of it had to do with pitching coach Jim Hickey‘s starting rotation. The Astros were a mix-and-match bunch offensively, but the pitching was outstanding. Roger Clemens had a sensational 1.87 era, while Andy Pettitte and Roy Oswalt combined to form a trio no other team had. This was also the second year of “Lights out Lidge” with Brad Lidge nailing the coffin shut day in and day out.

The guy that really held the glue together in 2005 was Morgan Ensberg. With almost no run production in this offense at times, somebody had to step up and be a leader. Lance Berkman certainly helped later in the year, but it was Morgan who may have saved this team with his consistent offense throughout. Ensberg never met these numbers again but his 36 home runs and 101 rbi were huge out of the 3/4 hole. Another surprise contributor was Jason Lane in his first full season starting. Lane cracked 26 home runs and was a guy who seemed to deliver more than enough key hits down the stretch.

On paper this certainly was not the best team the Astros fielded, but for the sole fact they found a way to win when it counted, Phil Garner has to be number one. We all know the rest of the story did not pan out, and the ending certainly could be re-written. The Astros ran out of steam falling to the Chicago White Sox four games to none in the World Series. The difference, however, is this team was not a World Series caliber team that made it to the World Series. 1998, 1999, and 2004 in my opinion were much better built for this run. When we talk pure managing, you have got to give it to Phil Garner

Next: Vote For Your Top Manager

Aug 8, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros right fielder

(4) stands in the dugout prior to the game against the Texas Rangers at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

As Houston patiently waits for its next great season, one will ask can A.J. Hinch do it? Certainly there have been many managers who have tried, failed, and maybe were not so bad. The quality of these athletes at the end of the day will make or break the manager. His job is to keep the players enthused, make sure they play the game the right way, and most importantly put players in the right place to succeed.

If Hinch can do all of the above, he will at the very least put himself in the running to make the next variation of this list! Now it is your time to vote. Which of these managerial seasons would you rank as your number one pick? Be sure to come back to Climbing Tal’s Hill on February 22 for Thomas’ recap on this series. Thanks for reading!