Astros: Which players are on franchise’s Mount Rushmore?

Which four players belong on the Houston Astros version of Mount Rushmore?

We’re feeling nostalgic here at Climbing Tal’s Hill, and not just because our namesake has been relegated to the past. With baseball on hold, it’s a good opportunity to look back on the history of the Houston Astros franchise.

The idea crossed my mind as to which players would be on an Astros version of Mount Rushmore. Now the criteria for this is fairly simple — there are four spots available, and the players should be the four most important or most impactful players in the history of the team. How that exactly is judged is a little more complicated.

What’s not complicated, however, are the first two names to go on this list. Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell are the very definition of what we’re looking for. They were the faces of the franchise for 15 years, forged Hall of Fame careers spent entirely in Houston, and helped lead the team to some of its most successful heights.

Deciding on the other two is going to require some splitting of hairs. There’s no shortage of viable candidates for the distinction, so we’ll run through them and then try to narrow the list down to the two players who’ll join Biggio and Bagwell on the Astros’ Mount Rushmore.

The Pitchers

You can’t have this conversation without including Nolan Ryan. He’s baseball’s all-time strikeout leader and spent nine seasons with the Astros, more than he spent with any other team. He was part of the club’s first two division winners in 1980 and 1986 and remains the franchise’s all-time leader in strikeouts. His time spent working for the organization after his retirement only adds to his importance.

Looking a bit more recent, we find The Wizard himself, Roy Oswalt. He’s second in club history in wins and strikeouts and third in starts and innings pitched. He was the team’s ace through its playoff runs of 2004 and 2005 despite the presence of Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte alongside him.

Larry Dierker deserves consideration as both a player and manager. He made his major league debut on his 18th birthday in 1964 and became the team’s first ace. He started the most games and threw the most innings in club history and is third in wins. His years as manager saw the team win division titles in 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2001.

Mike Scott is fourth in club history in wins, and his 1986 season was arguably the best the franchise has seen from a pitcher. He won the NL Cy Young Award and authored a no-hitter to clinch the division title. He dominated the second half of the 1980s.

Joe Niekro has to be on the list by virtue of being the club’s all-time leader in wins and second in starts and innings pitched. He was a big part of that first playoff team in 1980 as well.

Finally, you’ve gotta have arguably the best pitcher in club history, J.R. Richard. He could’ve been a lock for the proverbial Mount Rushmore had a stroke not cut his career short at age 30. Despite that, he’s fifth in club history in wins and third in strikeouts and still holds club records of nine consecutive complete games and three consecutive shutouts.

Narrowing It Down

Of the ten names I’ve put forth, I can cut it down to five easily. Ryan, Oswalt, Dierker, Berkman and Altuve are still in the running. With due respect to the other five, I think these guys all have a legitimate case to join Biggio and Bagwell.

Now comes the hard part, which is figuring out which two have the better case. It’s hard to go wrong with any of these five, and each fan will probably have his or her own opinion on who the best two should be. It’s a good problem to have when you’ve got this many players of such importance.

With respect to Ryan, he has the benefit of being a Hall of Famer and the all-time strikeout king. He and Dierker both have contributions outside of their playing careers as well. So with that being said, I think we can eliminate Oswalt, as good as he was.

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Berkman was a force, one of the best all-around hitters of his era. At his peak, you could argue he was as dangerous at the plate as Bagwell. He didn’t quite get to Bagwell’s level in the counting stats, but that’s a tough standard to meet.

Altuve has the benefit of being one of the faces of the franchise during its only World Series championship thus far. His counting stats will only get better as he continues to play, and his rise from unheralded prospect to MVP is a story that resonates with every Astros fan.

Considering his importance to the franchise and that he’s the only one with a ring, I give Altuve a slight edge over Berkman. We have to have at least one pitcher on the list, so Berkman is out. That leaves us with Altuve, Ryan and Dierker.

Maybe it’s unfair, but Dierker never made it past the first round of the playoffs as manager despite some incredibly talented teams. And while he was an excellent pitcher in his day, he wasn’t an all-time great like Ryan. So I think I’ll scratch him off and put Ryan and Altuve on the Astros Mount Rushmore alongside Biggio and Bagwell.

***Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference and MLB.com***