HOUSTON -- Could the 2004 Astros one day boast of having six members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame? It not only would be historic, but it’s entirely possible considering two members of that team -- Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell -- are already in the Hall of Fame and four others are up for election for next year’s class to be enshrined in Cooperstown, N.Y. Biggio, who played his entire 20-year career in Houston, became the first member of the Hall of Fame to have an Astros plaque on his cap when he was voted into the class of 2015, marking one of the proudest moments in franchise history. Bagwell, who played his entire 15-year career alongside Biggio in Houston, joined him in 2017. Two other former Astros who were on the ’04 team -- pitcher Roger Clemens and second baseman Jeff Kent -- are up for consideration by way of the Hall of Fame’s Contemporary Baseball Era Committee. The committee will meet for a vote Dec. 7 at baseball’s Winter Meetings in Orlando, Fla. Any candidate who receives 75% of the votes cast by the 16-person committee will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2026, along with those who will be voted in by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in January. Two ’04 Astros, pitcher Andy Pettitte and outfielder Carlos Beltrán, are on that BBWAA ballot. The names on the ballot were released Monday, and the results of the BBWAA’s voting will be announced at 5 p.m. CT on Jan. 20 on MLB Network. |
Players need 75% of the BBWAA vote to be elected, and they have 10 years to be on the ballot as long as they receive at least 5% of the vote. During the 2025 voting cycle, Beltrán jumped from 57.1% support to 70.3% in his third time on the ballot. Pettitte also more than doubled his support (13.5% to 27.9%), although he enters his eighth year on the ballot. Considering Clemens and Pettitte played only three seasons in Houston (2004-06 each), Kent played two (2003-04) and Beltrán played 1 1/2 seasons (second half of ’04, all of ’17), it’s unlikely any of them would have an Astros cap on his plaque if elected. Still, the possibility that six members of the ’04 team – a team that also included Lance Berkman and Roy Oswalt -- could wind up in Cooperstown is remarkable. No team since the 1965 San Francisco Giants has had as many as six Hall of Famers on the roster in the same season. They boasted Orlando Cepeda, Juan Marichal, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Gaylord Perry and Warren Spahn. The Astros signed Kent in 2003 to play second base, moving Biggio temporarily to the outfield. Kent memorably hit a three-run walk-off homer in Game 5 of the 2004 NLCS against the Cardinals after hitting 27 home runs in the regular season. |
Pettitte signed a three-year deal with the Astros on Dec. 16, 2003, after nine seasons with the Yankees. Pettitte wore No. 21 in honor of his friend and teammate Clemens, who had worn the number with the Red Sox and Blue Jays. A month later, Clemens was lured out of retirement to join their hometown Astros. The Astros -- and Pettitte -- got off to a poor start in 2004. Pettitte’s elbow deteriorated, and he had surgery in August. Clemens went 18-4 with a 2.98 ERA in 33 starts in 2004 to win his seventh and final Cy Young Award. He started for the NL in the 2004 All-Star Game in Houston -- 18 years after he started for the AL in the Astrodome. Beltrán was acquired in a three-team trade on June 24, 2004. He played 90 games with the Astros that year, batting .258 with 23 home runs, 53 RBIs and 28 stolen bases while representing them in the All-Star Game. Beltrán tied Barry Bonds’ single postseason record by hitting eight home runs, including a record five consecutive games. (Randy Arozarena established a new mark with 10 postseason homers in 2020.) Berkman, one of the best switch-hitters of his generation, disappeared from the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot after only one year, receiving 1.2% of the vote in 2019. He could wind up getting a second look by the Contemporary Era Committee in future years following a career in which he had 1,905 hits, 422 homers, 1,234 RBIs and a .943 career OPS. He was a six-time All-Star and had four top-five finishes in NL MVP voting. |
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THIS DATE IN ASTROS HISTORY |
Nov. 19, 1979: Nolan Ryan signed a four-year, $4.5 million contract with his hometown Astros, making him the first player in history to make $1 million in one season. The future Hall of Famer joined a pitching rotation that included J.R. Richard and Joe Niekro and helped the Astros win the 1980 NL West title in the first of his nine seasons in Houston. “There was always interest in bringing Nolan Ryan home,” former Astros general manager Tal Smith said. “Dick Moss was Ryan’s agent and was very in-depth and very good at what he does. He reached out to [Astros owner John] McMullen. As it turned out, we created the first $1 million player in free agency.” |
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