Players You Forgot Were Astros: Pitcher Shawn Chacon

In this installment of the Players You Forgot Were Astros series, we look at the career of Shawn Chacon.

There are a number of episodes in Houston Astros history that we might describe as painful. This one, however, could be described as literally painful. I’m talking about the brief Houston career of pitcher Shawn Chacon.

Chacon was a third round draft pick by the Rockies in 1996 and reached the majors in 2001. He made the All-Star team in 2003 and managed a winning record, which was easier said than done for Rockies pitchers at that time. Still, he managed only a 5.20 ERA in five seasons in Colorado, mostly as a starter. He did pitch one season in the bullpen and saved 35 games, but was 1-9 with a 7.11 ERA.

A midseason 2005 trade to the Yankees paid off as he worked to a 2.85 ERA in 12 starts and two relief appearances in pinstripes. But in 2006, he struggled to a 7.00 ERA in 11 starts and six relief appearances before being traded to Pittsburgh, where he pitched to a 5.48 ERA in nine starts.

A move to the bullpen in 2007 helped, as he compiled a 3.94 ERA 64 appearances before reaching free agency. The Astros signed him with the intent of letting him compete for a spot in the starting rotation, which he ended up winning.

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Chacon actually set an MLB record for the most starts without a decision to start a season, going without a win or loss in his first nine outings. He had a 4.14 ERA in that span, and then won his next two starts to drop his ERA to 3.95 through the end of May. Then the wheels came off.

Chacon was 0-3 with a 9.35 ERA in four June starts, giving up six or more earned runs twice, and giving up four runs in just one inning in another start. That performance resulted in him being removed from the rotation, which is where the real fun began.

On June 25, he got into an altercation with GM Ed Wade in the team dining room in which Chacon grabbed Wade by the neck and threw him to the ground. Supposedly, Wade wanted Chacon to come to a meeting in manager Cecil Cooper‘s office, but Chacon refused and things got heated. As a result of his actions, he was waived the very next day and never pitched in the majors again.

He finished his Astros career with a 5.04 ERA in 15 starts, and his major league career with a 4.99 ERA in 922 innings over eight seasons. He was hardly an asset to the team, and his behavior is one of the most stunning examples of unchecked aggression that we’ve seen from a player. Maybe it’s best if we forgot he was an Astro.