Astros Hall of Fame ceremony a reminder of Lance Berkman and what might have been

Hall of Fame inductions are always joyous times, and the Houston Astros took care of two of their own this past weekend. They inducted Alan Ashby and Phil Garner into the Astros Hall of Fame during Hall of Fame Weekend at Daikin Park. It was a bittersweet ceremony. Garner recently passed away in April after a battle with pancreatic cancer, so his wife, Carol, accepted the honor with their sons, daughter, and grandkids, and talked about how Houston was home. It was touching.

Ashby caught more than 900 games in an Astros uniform and spent 13 years broadcasting for the team. He got to soak it all in himself. Both of these guys earned their spots. Garner managed the 2005 team to the franchise’s first World Series appearance, and Ashby was a steady presence behind the plate. 

But any time the Astros Hall of Fame comes up, it’s hard not to think about others who belong. And more specifically, it’s hard not to think about the guy who had a real shot at doing something even bigger than a franchise Hall of Fame.

Lance Berkman's window closed faster than it should have

For a full decade, Lance Berkman was simply one of the best hitters in baseball. After a cup of coffee in 1999, he hit .300/.413/.559 from 2000-2009. A switch-hitter, he drew comparisons to Mickey Mantle, and they were deserved. He finished in the top-10 of MVP voting six times overall and five times during that stretch, finishing as high as third twice. Yes, it was a time when hitters were universally thriving, but he was sixth in baseball in that time in wRC+, behind only Jason Giambi, Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, Albert Pujols, and Barry Bonds.

Then it just sort of stopped. Berkman had injury issues in 2010 and was eventually traded to the Yankees at that deadline. He had been solid for the Astros, but struggled in 37 games with New York. He signed with the Cardinals on a two-year deal and had a monster 2011 season, including one of the biggest hits in the World Series in Game Six. But in 2012, he played only 32 games, then ended his career with Texas, hitting .242/.340/.359 in 73 games before hanging it up.

If he could have played a few more seasons at the level he showed from 2000-2009 and then again in 2011, he’d have been a big part of the Cooperstown conversation. Instead, he retired with excellent numbers, but not quite enough. He hit 366 home runs, drove in 1,234 runs, and had a .943 career OPS that’s still one of the best of any switch-hitter in big league history. The rate stats were good enough. The counting stats weren’t. He fell off the ballot after just one year.

He’s not the first player to have an incredible peak but not enough around it. Voters have just never known quite what to do with players who are so good when they’re so good, but fall off abruptly. The counting stats almost always come back to haunt those players in the end. 

Whether you’re looking at how underappreciated his career actually was or digging into the specifics of his Hall of Fame case, the conclusion tends to land in the same place. Berkman was better than the way he’s remembered, and injuries cut short a career that might have cost him more than counting stats. They might have cost him a shot at the biggest honor baseball has to offer.

It’s fair to wonder if the same issue will plague any current Astros. Yordan Alvarez has put up numbers better than Berkman in his first few seasons. Will he have the longevity to hit enough home runs or drive in enough runs for inclusion? Will Jose Altuve’s decline leave him on the outside looking in if he “only” reaches 2,700 hits without putting up 300 home runs? His MVP does some work for him that Berkman and Alvarez (not yet anyway) have on their resumes, but it’s a fair question. 

None of this is meant to take anything away from Ashby and Garner. The weekend belonged to them and to a franchise that is dedicated to honoring the people who helped build it. But every Astros Hall of Fame ceremony is a small reminder that this franchise has players who belonged on a bigger stage. Berkman tops that list, and nothing can change what should have been a plaque in Cooperstown.

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