It's 38 days until Opening Day so let's take a look back at the Astros' 38th season - 1999.
With a 97-65 record, the Astros put up their 2nd best record (at the time) ever and won the NL Central for a third straight time time, doing so on the last day of the regular season.
On April 9 of that year, the Astros signed a 30-year, $100 million deal with Enron for the rights of the name of the new ballpark. That deal lasted about 45 minutes before Enron went under. Intresting side note, Minute Maid's current deal ends in 2030.
Individual accolades included Jeff Bagwell taking over from Jimmy Wynn as the team's all-time home run leader. Bagwell became the first player to have 3-homer games in both Wrigley and Comiskey Parks in the same year, and also set an MLB record by drawing 6 walks in a 16-inning game.
Opening Day was a home game vs. the Cubs with 51,668 (including me) in attendance. Your starting 9 that day was: Biggo 2B, Bell RF, Bagwell 1B, Caminiti 3B, Everett CF, Hidalgo LF, Eusebio C, Gutierrez SS, Reynolds P.
The Cubs countered with a lineup that included, among others, 35-year old Lance Johnson, 34-year-old Benito Santigo, and 78-year-old Gary Gaetti. Shockingly, the Cubs finished last. The good guys won 4-2 with solo shots by Dinosaur Everett and Doggy, and 6 solid innings by Shaner. Non-Hall of Famer Billy Wagner got the save.
The team had a winning record in every month, highlighted by a 19-9 July. They had a winning record against almost every team, except one, you know who. Those mothertrucking racists with their Tomahawk Chop.
The Central was a 2-horse race between the Astros and the Reds, who had an amazing combination of All-Stars like Sean Casey and Barry Larkin combined with guys I forgot ever played, like Pokey Reese. Their ace was Pete Harnisch.
In mid-July, the Astros ran off 8 wins in a row, including three walk-offs in four nights, to open up a 3-1/2 game lead over the Reds. They tried to blow it late in the year, with the Reds taking a 1-game lead on August 28th when Harnisch beat Lima Time 4-1. The next day, Mike Hampton went 8 innings allowing 1 run and Daryle Ward actually showed up and hit a 2-run bomb in the 8th to tie the Reds and Astros atop the division.
Both teams lost their 160th game of the year to remain tied at 95-65. In Game 161, the Brewers beat the **** out of the REds 10-6 while the Astros got the performance of a lifetime from LIma Time, 7 innings, no runs, 8 strikeouts. Non Hall of Famer Billy Wagner saved his 39th game to lower his ERA to 1.57 on the season. The Astros were up 1 game with 1 game to go.
On Sunday, the last game in the Astrodome's history, the team started 1-1/2 hours ahead of the Reds and dropped 4 runs on whoever the hell Robinson Checo is in the bottom of the first inning. The Reds watched in delight as Checo walked Astro legend Stan Javier, Bagwell, Everett and Caminiti in succession, then gave up a bases-loaded double to Ward to make it 4-0. Hampton won his 22nd game vs. only 4 losses and Bagwell joined the elite 30-30 club with his 30th stolen base.
Bagwell was a monster truck in 1999, 1.045 OPS, 143 runs scored, 42 HR, 126 RBI, 30 steals. Biggio had 56 doubles, scored 123 runs, stole 28 bases and drove in 73 runs. Carl Everett, had one of the best seasons ever by a crazy person, hitting .325 with 25 HR and 108 RBI (.969 OPS).
It was the first season of Berkman, Ward, and Mitch Meluskey, and an incredible performance by super-sub Bill Spiers, who at age 33 hit .288. Lima (21-10), Hampton (22-4), and Shaner (16-14) combined to go 59-28.
Game 1 of the NLDS was as good as it gets for the 1990 Astros, Shaner beating Greg Maddux in Atlanta 6-1. Eusebio had an RBI single in the 2nd off Maddux and Ward took him deep in the 6th, then the Astros blew up for 4 in the top of the ninth thanks largely to a 3-run bomb by Caminiti.
And that was the last game of the season, IIRC.
Well actually there was the Kevin Milwood near-no hitter, Cammy hitting a HR to make it respectable. Then the extra-inning choke job in which Jay Powell was allowed to pitch for some reason. That's the one where we had the bases loaded with nobody out in the 10th inning and Everett, Eusebio, and Gutierrez combined for 2 groundouts and a strikeout. And then Game 4, where we got down 7-0 and almost rallied, but didn't rally.
Ken caminiti had the greatest playoff series by a Stro until the days of Beltran in that series, hitting .471 with a 1.526 OPS and 3 HR and 8 RBi in 4 games. Meanwhile ... Bagwell .154, Biggio .105. Everett .133. Shane Reynolds hit better than any of them (.250).