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| Carlos Lee |
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Carlos Lee raised his slugging percentage tonight from .414 to .706. Sure, that's indicative of how early in the year it is, but it also shows you just exactly what doubling your seasonal total bases in one night will do for your production numbers.
I also suspect that this game will convert any remaining nonbelievers among us Astro fans, at least for the forseeable future. Some of those skeptics had pointed to an uncharaceristically high strikeout ratio, or even to six singles among his first eight hits.
Gotta say, though, that the singles ratio bothered me not at all. They showed me Lee was disciplined enough, smart enough to take what has been given. He cuts down with two strikes and takes the ball back where it was pitched. He's not just a slugger, but a hitter. And sluggers come and go, but a hitter's got some staying power.
And I knew the power would show up, although maybe I didn't think it'd show up like this: In only his ninth game as an Astro, Lee joins some Astro greats on a very very select list.
| Date | Opponent | Player |
|---|---|---|
| June 15, 1967 | vs. San Francisco | Jimmy Wynn |
| June 21, 1973 | at San Diego | Lee May |
| September 10, 1987 | at San Diego | Glenn Davis |
| June 1, 1990 | at San Francisco | Glenn Davis |
| June 24, 1994 | vs. Los Angeles | Jeff Bagwell |
| April 21, 1999 | at Chicago NL | Jeff Bagwell |
| June 9, 1999 | at Chicago AL | Jeff Bagwell |
| July 28, 2001 | at Pittsburgh Game One | Vinny Castilla |
| April 16, 2002 | at Cincinnati | Lance Berkman |
| September 16, 2003 | at Colorado | Richard Hidalgo |
| May 15, 2005 | vs. San Francisco | Morgan Ensberg |
| April 13, 2007 | at Philadelphia | Carlos Lee |
Lee becomes the Astros player to homer three times in a game earliest in the calendar year, and misses the club's game-record for RBI's and total bases by one each.
He will have a chance to become the first Astro to homer five times in two games tomorrow night.