Number 23 on the Astros franchise career stolen bases list is Brian Hunter, who has 66 stolen bases in his career with Houston. With game 66 set to be played today we'll take a look at Hunter's career with Houston.
Hunter was drafted by the Astros in the 2nd round of the 1989 amateur draft out of For Vancouver High School in Vancouver Washington. He made his debut with Houston in 1994 on June, 7. He didn't get much of an opportunity to play after that because the league shut down shortly after that. In 1995 he again started the year in the minors, but was called up in June and inserted into the lineup on the 13th to play centerfield.
He had a pretty good year in '95, finishing seventh in the Rookie of the Year voting. He still 24 bases while being caught seven times and batted .302/.346/.396.
The next year he stole more bases, 35, but produced less at the plate with a .276/.297/.363 line. He would be traded in the offseason in blockbuster deal to the Detroit Tigers along with Doug Brocail, Todd Jones and Orlando Miller for Brad Ausmus, Jose Lima, Trever Miller, C.J. Nitkowski and Daryle Ward.
The Tigers got an immediate return from Hunter in the offense department with 74 swiped bags from him and a small uptick in his hitting with a .269/.334/.353 line. He would continue to swipe bags and play good defense through out his career but could never put together a sold hitting line. That is until he returned to Houston in a part time role.
The Astros signed Hunter prior to the 2002 season and played primarily as a reserve batting .269/.329/.423 in 220 plate appearances. He would also play for Houston in the 2003 season, but after a slow start was released midway through the 2003 season.