CTH Staff: Our favorite Astros players growing up

The CTH staff reminisces on their childhoods and remarks on their favorite Astros player growing up.

The Climbing Tal’s Hill staff is home to Dan Shedd, Matt Kunkel, Andrew Gleinser and Kenny Van Doren, who all grew up as Houston Astros fans. As they all are of different ages, their favorite players standout across different years in Astros history. They have come together to write upon the team they grew up watching, but now we take a look at their favorite Astros player from their childhood or even their adulthood.

Dan Shedd, Contributor

My favorite Astro of all time is Lance Berkman, The Big Puma. I can’t remember when I found out he went to Rice University, which was a block from where I grew up in Houston, but once I did, he instantly became my favorite Astros player because of his connection. to the Owls. As I got older and started following the Astros on a more regular basis, I saw what kind of player and person he was, which made me like him even more.

As a player for the Astros, he was one of the most feared hitters in all of Major League Baseball with the “Killer B’s.” In 12 seasons with the Astros, Berkman hit .296, 326 home runs and 1,090 RBIs. One of the best stories about Berkman as a person comes in Brian McTaggart’s book 100 Astros Fans Should Know and Do Before You Die. McTaggart tells the story of when Berkman was once being heckled by fans at Wrigley Field because of his perceived weight, which Berkman chalked up to big jowls. The fans threw Twinkies at Berkman, which he ate during a pitching change and stuffed the other one in his back pocket. “They gave me a standing ovation, I ended up homering my next at bat,” Berkman said.

I was very upset when the Astros traded away Berkman to the New York Yankees in 2010 and when he finished out his career with the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers. I still rooted for the Astros, but it just wasn’t the same without Berkman being in an Astros uniform.

Andrew Gleinser, Contributor

I came of age in a baseball sense in the early and mid-2000s. I only vaguely remember attending a game at the Astrodome once upon a time. So, my Astros fandom was shaped by what I saw during the final half of the Killer B’s era, and in particular, by one player who was a well-deserved face of the franchise: Craig Biggio.

Jeff Bagwell was great to watch too, of course, but there was something about Biggio that made you look up to him. He wasn’t the biggest guy, the strongest or the fastest guy, but he forged a Hall of Fame career anyway. And no matter the situation or the score, he gave 100 percent on every single play. You’d never see him halfheartedly jog to first base on a ground ball, and he set the example for the rest of the team to follow.

He won four Gold Gloves after switching to second base and then, being the ultimate team player, moved to the outfield for a couple of years to accommodate Jeff Kent. He wasn’t the same player in the mid-2000s that he was in the late 1990s, but his importance never diminished. He was as durable as any player can be, and he was always there at the top of the lineup.

The night he got his 3,000th hit was a game I’ll never forget. Bill Brown’s call of that moment — “Line drive right-center field, that’s number 3,000!” — is forever etched in my memory. Biggio turning back the clock and picking up five hits that night was one of the most incredible moments in Houston sports history.

Beyond what happened on the field, he was also an exceptional role model, as his ongoing work with The Sunshine Kids will attest. He was free from scandal and seemingly above reproach, and he represented the city with class and dignity. Biggio was simply an icon, and I’m fortunate to have been able to watch him make history.

Kenny Van Doren, Site Expert

As the youngest writer on staff, I will not be telling you about an all-time great or a long time Astro. The era I watched growing up consisted of 100-loss seasons, rebuilds, and hidden gems. Growing up, everyone modeled their little league careers after that one player that made you love the child’s game. For me, that player was Hunter Pence.

The former Astros outfielder played 5 seasons in Minute Maid Park, before the team traded him and cash to the Philadelphia Phillies for Domingo Santana, Jarred Cosart, Jon Singleton and Josh Zeid. In reality, this trade was awful and showed how unbearable the 2011 season was for Astros fans. Pence was the everyday right-fielder for the Astros from 2007 until 2011 when he was traded, and during that time he made great, diving catches in the gap.

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At the plate, his unorthodox wide-open batting stance was one of my favorites to mock in batting cages as a 10-year-old, but it went farther than that. His unbalanced, awkward stance would lead to great numbers at the plate for the Astros. While slashing .290/.339/.479, Pence made two All-Star games and had some of his best numbers of his career as an Astro. His high socks and lengthy approach made him so versatile from the base paths to the field.

I liked to compare myself to the speedy outfielder, as I modeled my game off of him. Like many kids, I wanted to be an MLB player when I grew up, but although I didn’t make the cut, Hunter Pence was one of the first players to help me build a love for the game. The 14-year veteran retired this offseason, as we all say goodbye to our heroes at some point, it is time to welcome in the future of the game.