***UPDATE***- Ok, so the discussion for this thread has been phenomenal, with many, many great names being tossed around. I think what will happen is that whenever conversation dies down, we'll take all the names (hopefully, like one commenter suggested, we get 32 guys) and match 2 of them up, bracket style, and see who moves on.
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So, looking around at the other superb SBN baseball blogs, I see that a number of teams are keeping up with their various minor league players. Whether it be polling to see which player has shown the most promise, or Baseball Prospectus-like rankings, everyone is interested in looking to the future.
We here at TCB are also interested in our future. Hell, with this team it's not so much interest as it often is worry. Bill James said we have the least amount of young talent of any team in MLB. So what should we do in the meantime?? I say we look to the past/present, and try to determine just who is the greatest exemplar of what it means to be a Houston Astro. These young up and comers need something to look up to, am I right??
Working Definition of Astro-iest: Not just who is the best player, but who embodies what it means to play baseball in Houston, Texas for the Astros (whatever you think that means). Did the player grow up in Texas and go on to success with the hometown team? Maybe he's from somewhere else, but became a fan favorite. Baggage or none, All-Star or not, who is the Astro-iest?
Here's what I'm thinking- I have a list of 22 current and former Astros (and a certain stadium) that we came up with. After everyone has said their piece, we'll decide who the final16 will be, and do a good old fashioned tournament to decide who is the most Astro-iest. So, if everyone could leave a comment or two, telling us who you think should make up the final 16 or which 6 should be knocked out, it would make this process all the more enjoyable. In other words: let's get some discussion going- did we miss someone? Any suggestions to improve this endeavor? Let us know.
Without further adieu, here are the people/thing that make up our list...
The Astrodome
Milo Hamilton
Jeff Bagwell
Craig Biggio
Lance Berkman
Larry Dierker
Jimmy Wynn
Nolan Ryan
Shane Reynolds
Mike Scott
Jose Cruz
JoseLima
Brad Ausmus
Roy Oswalt
Roger Clemens
Alan Ashby
Billy Doran
Joe Niekro
Roy Oswalt
Mike Hampton
Ken Caminiti
Billy Wagner
Reader Submitted Choices:
Dickie Thon
J.R. Richard
Jim Bouton
Jim DeShaies