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MARCH MADNESS: Who is the Favorite Astro of All-Time?

Houston Astros Victory Parade Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images

For those of you who have been readers of The CrawfishBoxes, this will not be an overly new thing, although done with a slightly different twist than in previous years. If you’re not familiar with the concept as a whole, don’t worry we will share the links to some of the old ones, as well as explain the premise / differences here.

So to start with, based on the polling of the readers of the Crawfish Boxes, we will decide who we elect as the Favorite Astro of All-Time. In the past, we focused on current players. This year, we’re going to do it a bit different. We’re going to start with 32 contenders - 20 (10 pitchers/10 batters) will be the top WAR earners while in an Astros uniform for All-Time, 8 will be current Astros, and 4 will be “Special Selections” who may not fit into either of those categories but come as a fan favorite for one reason or another.

We will host voting daily, with the winners being determined by the votes placed within the 24 hour period after the article is posted. The following day the winners of the previous day’s matches will be posted as well as the matches that day - with each week a higher level of background, detail, and argument as to why the specific player should be chosen.

So how do you choose? Well, that’s completely up to you. The writers will attempt to sway your votes as we advocate for our pick using everything from advanced statistics, the contribution to the community, heartfelt memories or stories. I mean - it’s tough to quantify how cool it is that Oswalt almost quit baseball before electrocuting himself and loosening scar tissue in his shoulder.

The Schedule -

3/17/2020 - Today. Announcement Post and initial voting taking the field from 32 to 16 Contenders.

3/18/2020 - Top 16 are named. I expect posters to be advocating for their selection and make bold statements as to who wins.

3/19-20/2020 - 4 “Matches” per day. These will be a bit broader, high level

3/21/20 - Top 8 Named

3/22-25/20 - 2 “Matches per day. This is where it starts to get fun. 2 writers advocating for their selection.

3/26/20 - Top 4 Named

3/27-28/20 - 1 Match per day. This is where you have to break out all the stops. Tell the story of meeting Biggio and how he told you that you’d be a great player one day (liar!), use all the stats and the weapon.

3/29/20 - The March Madness Favorite Astro of All Time World Series. The big game day. We will keep voting and arguments open for 2 days!

3/31/20 - We crown our champion. TCB’s Favorite Astro of All-Time.

So let’s meet our contenders:

Top 8 Astros Position Player WAR:

Jeff Bagwell

Craig Biggio

Jose Cruz

Cesar Cedeno

Lance Berkman

Jim Wynn

Jose Altuve

Joe Morgan

Top 8 Astros Pitchers by WAR

Roy Oswalt

Larry Dierker

Don Wilson

Nolan Ryan

Mike Scott

Joe Niekro

JR Richard

Shane Reynolds

Current Astros

Justin Verlander

George Springer

Yordan Alvarez

Carlos Correa

Alex Bregman

Michael Brantley

Zack Greinke

Lance McCullers

Jose Altuve*

Others:

Ken Caminiti

Charlie F’ing Morton

Billy Wagner

Geoff Blum

Roger Clemens

Darryl Kile

Dallas Keuchel

Brent Strom

*Now you may have realized that Jose Altuve is the only player that ranked on both the All-Time and the Current list. Not that he’ll need the boost in votes, but it’s definitely worth noting!

And Now to start the voting for until tomorrow night:

Round 1

Does recent Astros Hall of Fame Inductee Shane Reynolds be able to overthrow the mighty Jeff Bagwell?

Poll

Jeff Bagwell vs Shane Reynolds

This poll is closed

  • 98%
    Jeff Bagwell
    (288 votes)
  • 1%
    Shane Reynolds
    (5 votes)
293 votes total Vote Now

The pitcher with the most WAR ever in an Astros uniform vs one of the greatest second basemen to play the game.

Poll

Roy Oswalt vs Joe Morgan

This poll is closed

  • 84%
    Roy Oswalt
    (249 votes)
  • 15%
    Joe Morgan
    (44 votes)
293 votes total Vote Now

Ohh another tough one. Biggio was our first ever elected Hall of Famer but he comes up against tough competition with JR Richard’s not only elite performance but emotional end.

Poll

Craig Biggio vs JR Richard

This poll is closed

  • 89%
    Craig Biggio
    (308 votes)
  • 10%
    JR Richard
    (38 votes)
346 votes total Vote Now

Will The Toy Cannon be able to overtake a person who was well loved as a pitcher, in the front office, and from the booth?

Poll

Larry Dierker vs Jimmy Wynn

This poll is closed

  • 57%
    Larry Dierker
    (167 votes)
  • 42%
    Jimmy Wynn
    (122 votes)
289 votes total Vote Now

Arguably the most successful Knuckleballer of all time vs a beloved record holder as a player, a coach, and assistant to the GM for 10 of the 11 Astro’s all time play off appearances.

Poll

Jose Cruz vs Joe Nierko

This poll is closed

  • 85%
    Jose Cruz
    (247 votes)
  • 14%
    Joe Niekro
    (42 votes)
289 votes total Vote Now

Astros Hall of Famer Don Wilson and his 2 no-hitters come up against a monstrous fan favorite in Jose Altuve.

Poll

Don Wilson vs Jose Altuve

This poll is closed

  • 3%
    Don Wilson
    (14 votes)
  • 96%
    Jose Altuve
    (338 votes)
352 votes total Vote Now

The Astros all time steal leader with 4 All-Star selections and 5 Gold Gloves comes up against the infamous flame thrower in Nolan Ryan.

Poll

Cesar Cedeno vs Nolan Ryan

This poll is closed

  • 16%
    Cesar Cedeno
    (47 votes)
  • 83%
    Nolan Ryan
    (244 votes)
291 votes total Vote Now

Scott comes in with the accolades of 3 All Star Selections and a Cy Young but McCullers is a ray of hope and memories of those 24 dominant curveballs dominating the Yankees lingers.

Poll

Mike Scott vs Lance McCullers

This poll is closed

  • 80%
    Mike Scott
    (232 votes)
  • 20%
    Lance McCullers
    (58 votes)
290 votes total Vote Now

This almost feels like the Chicken vs the Egg. Verlander was arguably a HoF’er before he got here but few would deny the impact that Strom had on Verlander’s turn around in performance. Strom’s so well known for turning around pitchers, it’s just expected at this point.

Poll

Justin Verlander vs Brent Strom

This poll is closed

  • 64%
    Justin Verlander
    (188 votes)
  • 35%
    Brent Strom
    (104 votes)
292 votes total Vote Now

Two players I have fond memories of coming head to head in an interesting match up.

Poll

Ken Caminiti vs Lance Berkman

This poll is closed

  • 15%
    Ken Caminiti
    (46 votes)
  • 84%
    Lance Berkman
    (245 votes)
291 votes total Vote Now

Super Springer vs the Beard!

Poll

George Springer vs Dallas Keuchel

This poll is closed

  • 94%
    George Springer
    (276 votes)
  • 5%
    Dallas Keuchel
    (17 votes)
293 votes total Vote Now

Post season hero pitchers come head to head. Will the results or current team matter more?

Poll

Charlie Morton vs Zack Greinke

This poll is closed

  • 87%
    Charlie Morton
    (258 votes)
  • 12%
    Zack Greinke
    (36 votes)
294 votes total Vote Now

The emerging star vs the one who has left us.

Poll

Yordan Alvarez vs Darryl Kile

This poll is closed

  • 46%
    Yordan Alvarez
    (135 votes)
  • 53%
    Darryl Kile
    (154 votes)
289 votes total Vote Now

One of the best closers of all time comes up against a player who has the potential to be one of the greatest SS in the game.

Poll

Billy Wagner vs Carlos Correa

This poll is closed

  • 71%
    Billy Wagner
    (207 votes)
  • 28%
    Carlos Correa
    (84 votes)
291 votes total Vote Now

The Ego Match-up with the skill sets to back it up

Poll

Alex Bregman vs Roger Clemens

This poll is closed

  • 80%
    Alex Bregman
    (235 votes)
  • 19%
    Roger Clemens
    (56 votes)
291 votes total Vote Now

Two mild mannered, fan favorites enter the ring, but only one can emerge victorious

Poll

Geoff Blum vs Michael Brantley

This poll is closed

  • 48%
    Geoff Blum
    (143 votes)
  • 51%
    Michael Brantley
    (149 votes)
292 votes total Vote Now

I do want to mention one thing. No matter which 32 players were selected, there was going to be a large number of fan favorites who missed the list. There’s players in the Astros Hall of Fame that didn’t make it. I told my friend, and his first reaction was “I’m going to vote for Tyler White”, who didn’t make the cut. Collin McHugh is a personal favorite of mine, there’s so many great Astros that the list was always going to cut some short, but here’s the list. Let us know who you think will win, let us know which votes were tough for you to choose and who you went with and why!