Astros: Best individual seasons in club history – shortstop

We continue with our series looking at the best individual seasons in Houston Astros history by position.

While second base was filled with no shortage of strong candidates for the list of the best individual seasons in Houston Astros history, shortstop is a little tougher. It hasn’t always been a position of strength for this franchise.

But there are a couple of seasons in particular that stand out. As one might expect, the club’s current shortstop is among those. Again, for the purposes of this series, each player is only allowed to appear on the list once, so we take each player’s best season and rank them.

5. Craig Reynolds – 1984

Reynolds stepped in as the starting shortstop for the injured Dickie Thon in 1984 and put up a surprisingly solid campaign. He compiled 3.1 WAR on the strength of a solid defensive performance and a .260/.286/.364 line.

4. Adam Everett – 2006

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Everett was never much with the bat, and he hit just .239/.290/.352 in 2006, so how does he make the list? Anyone who watched him play knows it was his glove, and this season was his best in the field. He put up a .990 fielding percentage, which is high for the position, and totaled 34 defensive runs saved. It got him to 3.5 total WAR for the season, and it’s a travesty he never won a Gold Glove.

3. Denis Menke – 1970

Menke spent two seasons as the team’s starting shortstop and was an All-Star both times. He hit .304/.392/.441 with 26 doubles, 13 homers, 92 RBIs and more walks than strikeouts in 1970. He got some MVP consideration the year prior, but ’70 was his best. He compiled 3.9 WAR, which was held down by a subpar defensive performance.

2. Carlos Correa – 2016

Correa could very well top this list soon if he can put together a full, healthy season. For now, his lone full season is what makes this cut. He played 153 games in 2016 and hit .274/.361/.451 with 36 doubles, 20 homers and 96 RBIs, compiling a total 7.0 WAR.

1. Dickie Thon – 1983

This was undoubtedly Thon’s best season, as it got him an All-Star selection, a Silver Slugger award, and a seventh-place finish in the NL MVP voting. He slashed .286/.341/.457 with 20 homers, 79 RBIs and 34 steals. Combined with a strong performance on defense, his season was worth 7.4 WAR.