HOUSTON - JUNE 18: Julio Borbon #29 of the Texas Rangers slides safely into third base after tripling in the sixth inning against the Houstonn Astros as third baseman Geoff Blum awaits the throw at Minute Maid Park on June 18, 2010 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
2002 was a pretty good year for the Astros. They didn't make the playoffs but they made a good go of it (by today's standards), posting an 84-78 record, scoring 749 runs, while allowing only 695 runs. The finished second in the division to the St. Louis Cardinals who finished with a 97-65 record.
Offensively there wasn't much to write home about, Jeff Bagwell did his thing and a 26 year old Lance Berkman did his thing. The only other regular position player with an above average OPS+ was newly acquired Geoff Blum who played in 130 games in his first season with the Astros. That would be the most games in a season he would appear in for the Astros.
Chris Truby got the Astros a third basemen who hit .283/.367/.440 for an OPS+ of 107 in 421 plate appearances. Baseball References defensive WAR had him at .5 on the season which combined with his 1.3 offensive WAR amounted to a 1.7 overall WAR.
Blum wasn't an All-Star in 2002 but he was far from the reason why the Astros didn't make the post-season. Chris Truby, the player the Astros traded to the Montreal Expos for Blum, put together an OPS+ of 48 in 2002 for both the Expos and Tigers.
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