And he hit it off Drabek! Those were the Astros' only runs of the game.

Here's Nolan's home run in his first Astros game in 1980.

If only there was an Astros game tonight to fulfill the shielding meme

tjack16 said:

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Need some good Astros news soon

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Jeans status?

07ag said:

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tjack16 said:

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Need some good Astros news soon

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Jeans status?

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The ripped jeans entered the transfer portal. #RespectMyDecision

91 days until opening day!

From the outside looking in, the 1991 Houston Astros were a train wreck. They had been contenders as recently as 1989, but then pulled the plug on it all and started a rebuild. Only two players Mike Scott and Jim Deshaies, remained from their 1986 squad, the rest moving on via trade, retirement, or free agency.
The 1990 Astros had fallen out of contention and their biggest offensive weapon, Glenn Davis, was sent to Baltimore in a mega-deal that netted 3 promising prospects. While Scott pitched on opening day, he was joined by a lineup featuring only one player older than 29, journeyman infielder Casey Candaele who manned second base.

The team played down to its expectations, going 65-97. Scott suffered a career-ending injury and pitched just two games. DeShaies, expected to anchor the staff, was terrible, going 5-12 with a 4.98 ERA. But there wee diamonds in the rough as well, most notable 23-year-old rookie Jeff Bagwell, who won the NL Rookie of the Year, only the second Astro to do so. The team was 1 game over .500 o April 17th and then never again. They never had a winning month, blew 37 leads, and were shut out 16 times.

But there was a stretch there when we saw what they would one day be capable of, as a great team of the late 1990s. It started on July 28th. The team was 37-59, 19 games out of first, and had lost 11 of its last 13, including 7 straight.

They salvaged a Sunday afternoon home game against the first-place Pirates 9-7 as Candaele went 2-for-5 with 4 runs scored, 1 homer, and a steal. The next day they beat the visiting Cardinals 6-2 as Deshaies went the distance and Ken Caminiti hit a grand slam. The day after that they scored 5 runs from the 6th to the 8th inning to take a 7-5 win over the Cards on late home runs by jeff Bagwell and Mark Davidson, the latter a pinch-hit job to break a 5-5 tie in the last of the eighth. They finished a three-game sweep of St. Louis with a 9-5 win, scoring 4 runs in the bottom of the first off Bob Tewksbury as Bagwell and Luis Gonzalez both went deep.

That got the win streak to four with the most hated team of the day, the Dodgers, up next. It also was the start of one of the most unlikely four-game stretches in club history.

On a Friday night at the Dome, the Astros got up 7-0, blew the entire lead, and then won 9-8 with 2 runs in the bottom of the ninth off Jay Howell. The team scored 5 in the second, aided by a huge error by Juan Samuel with the bases loaded on a Steven Finley single. Darryl Strawberry keyed the comeback, and the Dodgers took their first lead, 8-7, in the top of the ninth on singles by Chris Gwynn and Alfredo Griffin. With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Gonzalez and Biggio both walked off Jay Howell, who was replaced by John Candelaria. This was the time in history when the Astros were still of the mind frame that you should pinch hit for Steve Finley with Rafael Ramirez, and that happened. And it worked. Ramirez hit a two-run, walk-off double for a 9-8 win.

This was a great Dodger team that won 93 games, finished one game behind the worst-to-first Braves and had Strawberry finish second in the MVP voting. The next day matched Mike Morgan in a career year vs. Ryan Bowen, who was a really good athlete but not the best pitcher. That changed at least for one game as Bowen allowed just 1 earned run in 7 innings, while Morgan pitched a full 9, allowing 6 hits and 1 earned run. The game went to extra innings tied at 1. In the bottom of the 10th, Astros prospect that never made it Jose Tolentino hit a pinch-hit double, and was joined on the basepaths by Finley on an error on a sac bunt. With one out, the Dodgers intentionally walked Bagwell to load the bases for Mr. Clutch, Rafael Ramirez, this time pinch-hitting for Luis Gonzalez. He did it again, a single through the left side to score Tolentino for a second straight walk-off win over LA and a 6th straight victory.

The next day, a Sunday, also saw a 10-inning game. The Dodgers scored a run in the top of the fourth off Jimmy D and the Astros scored one in the sixth off Tim Belcher. In the bottom of the 10th, the Astros found magic again when Gerald Young walked, Steve Finley singled him to second, and Biggio drove him in with a single. Three straight walk-off wins and a sweep of the Dodgers. Games that would ultimately cost LA the division title.

The next day brought the Padres to town. The Astros scratched out a run in the bottom of the fourth on a pickoff error that brought home Bagwell. Pete Harnisch was near perfection 7 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 12 strikeouts, but Curt Schilling blew the save in the ninth to send a third straight game to extra innings tied 1-1. This time it took to the 12th for Houston to win it. Facing old pal Larry Andersen with two outs in the bottom of the frame, Rafael Ramirez, Steve Finley, and Craig Biggio hit consecutive singles for a fourth straight walk-off, an eighth straight win, and the third straight 2-1 extra-inning victory.

The next night a young Darryl Kile gave up 5 hits and 1 run in 7 innings, striking out 7, and the win streak jumped to 9 in a 6-1 victory. The win streak ended the next day, but for a week and a half, the young Astros were the hottest team in baseball.

Al Michaels can go bleep himself

Who knew Al was a whiny little beetch?

How many homers will Chas McCormick have in 2024?

I'm saying 25+

(Video from @AscentAthlete_ IG) pic.twitter.com/4XkYdfRYpI

— Michael Schwab (@michaelschwab13) December 29, 2023

He should be over 30 HRs if he gets the playing time he deserves

I am not a fan of what Bregman is trying.

Farmer1906 said:

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I am not a fan of what Bregman is trying.

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He certainly never stops trying to change what he's doing. I think that's hurt his production significantly over the last few years.

LOL at all the resident Tony Gwynns.

Why don't yall message him and set him straight about what he should be doing!

Andrelton Simmons recently announced his retirement and I’m here to remind you that he was a defensive WIZARD in his prime. pic.twitter.com/3TSQ2uaBTW

— MLB Deadline News (@MLBDeadlineNews) December 29, 2023

I have a hot take. Simmons is the best defensive SS of the last 20-30 years.

You know me, I have some data to back it up.

Defensive Runs Saves 2010-2023 (SS only)
1. Andrelton Simmons - 201
2. Trevor Story - 77
3. Carlos Correa - 68
4. Brandon Crawford - 55

Yes, if you take the next best 3 and combine them it's still less than Simmons. Simmons's 2017 is the highest single season DRS.

Statcast misses the early defensive prime, but this is impressive none the less.

Fielding Run Value
2016 - 10, 4th for SS
2017 - 15, 1st
2018 - 11, 7th
2019 - 14, 3rd
2021 - 12, 4th

From 1950-2023 he has the 8th, 9th, 13th, 23rd, 37th, 45th, & 60th Def WAR seasons. (FYI Adam Everett's 2006 is #1. For a career, he's #2 to Omar Vizquel. 175.7 vs 174.3. Yet Omar more than doubled his innings played.

19.8% of HOF ballots are currently known. Billy Wagner is at exactly 75%.

agproducer said:

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I've always liked Al Michaels, but seriously?

“Somebody pounding on that trash can I think the Astros must be in town” pic.twitter.com/7XHjvKrzjz

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) December 29, 2023

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Me hearing those jokes

Dusty Baker tells us he’s talked to Larry Baer about a possible role with the Giants and he plans to talk to Farhan soon.

— Jason Dumas (@JDumasReports) December 29, 2023

He's someone else's problem now, they seem content with mediocrity there.