Chest Rockwell
1,000+ Posts
To be fair to the Astros, they are not always the team getting bent-over in trades. Here is what I see as the best trades they have made over the years:5. Florida Marlins trade Moises Alou to Astros for Oscar Henriquez, Manuel Barrios & Mark Johnson (1997). Though Moises only played 3 seasons in Houston before moving on via free agency, they were stellar years. Moises totaled 95 HRs, 346 RBIs, 265 Runs, 19 Steals and appeared in 2 All-Star games.
The 3 pitchers the Astros traded combined for < 76 innings in the big leagues.
4. Seattle Mariners trade Mike Hampton & Mike Felder to Astros for Eric Anthony (1993).
Eric Anthony went on to play 4 more seasons for 4 different clubs. His high-water marks over that time were 12 HRs, 30 RBIs and 32 Runs.
Mike Hampton has won 146 games, 1 Gold Glove and 5 Silver Slugger awards since the trade (73 of those w/Houston). He finished 2nd in the Cy Young voting in ’99 (to Randy Johnson) when he went 22-4 with a 2.90 ERA. Mike Felder was a throw-in.
3. NY Mets trade Mike Scott to Astros for Danny Heep (1982).
Other than being traded for Mike Scott, Danny Heep’s claim to fame is that he was in the winning dugout for 2 of the most memorable plays in World Series history. When he was with the Mets in 1986, he won a ring by watching Bill Buckner let a grounder go thru his legs. Two years later, he won a ring with the Dodgers and watched Kirk Gibson limp around the bases with a walk-off HR. Altogether, Heep played 9 more seasons with 4 teams after the trade, never eclipsing more than 8 HRs, 49 RBIs or 36 Runs.
Mike Scott went on to win 114 games with Houston over the next 8 years – none more dramatic than his no-hitter to clinch the NL West. He was a 3-time All-Star and in 1986 won the NLCS MVP and the Cy Young. In the 5 year period from ’85-’89, Scott won 18, 18, 16, 14 & 20 games and his ERA never got above 3.29.
2. Baltimore Orioles trade Curt Schilling, Steve Finley & Pete Harnisch to Astros for Glenn Davis (1991).
Davis only played 3 more years after this trade, totaling 24 HRs, 85 RBIs and 83 Runs. He had 4 individual years in Houston that surpassed that 3-year total with Baltimore.
Any one of these players alone would have made this a good trade. Schilling (215) and Harnisch (95) combined for 310 Major League Wins, 4200+ K’s and 7 All-Star appearances. Schilling was the Cy Young runner-up 3 times, the NLCS MVP and WS MVP. Steve Finley (I’m cutting/pasting) went on to play 14 more seasons, winning 5 Gold Gloves, and played in 2 All-Star games and 2 World Series (winning 1 ring). He is one of only 6 players in the 300/300 club (joining Barry & Bobby Bonds, Willie Mays, Andre Dawson & Reggie Sanders).
1. Boston Red Sox trade Jeff Bagwell to Astros for Larry Andersen (1990).
When he was with the Astros, I had the pleasure of becoming good friends with LA. He is one of the best guys you would ever want to meet, and was probably one of the best set-up men in the game. It sucks that he will forever be known as the guy on the other end of this deal, but it is what it is. Andersen gave Boston 22 efficient innings in the play-off hunt of 1990 and was saddled with the loss in Game 1 of the ALCS (which Oakland swept in 4).
Bagwell came to Houston and totaled 2314 hits, 449 HRs, 1500+ RBIs and Runs, and 200+ Steals. He was a 4-time All-Star, won 3 Silver Slugger, 1 Gold Glove, 1 Rookie of the Year and 1 MVP awards. (He also finished 2nd in the ’99 MVP to Chipper Jones.) If he is not the greatest ball-player that ever played for Houston, it is only because of a shoulder injury that cut his career short and (should be) 1st ballot HOF’er Craig Biggio.
There were 2 other deals that deserve special consideration, though they weren’t really “trades†but rather cash deals:1974 . . . Astros get Jose Cruz from St. Louis for undisclosed amount. Cruz’s numbers with Houston: 1870 games, 1937 hits, 138 HRs, 871 Runs, 942 RBIs, 288 Steals and 2 All-Star appearances.
1975 . . . Astros get Joe Niekro from Atlanta for $35,000. Niekro played for Houston for 11 years, winning 144 games – 21 of them shut-outs. In 1979, he was an All-Star and the runner up for the Cy Young (to Bruce Sutter) in 1979. FYI: J.R. Richard finished 3rd that same year.
{ Others receiving votes: }
1975 . . . Astros get Art Howe from Pittsburgh for Tommy Helms
1981 . . . Astros get Dickie Thon from Anaheim for Ken Forsch
1982 . . . Astros get Kevin Bass, Frank DiPino & Mike Madden from Milwaukee for Don Sutton
1988 . . . Astros get Mark Portugal from Minnesota for Todd McClure
The 3 pitchers the Astros traded combined for < 76 innings in the big leagues.
4. Seattle Mariners trade Mike Hampton & Mike Felder to Astros for Eric Anthony (1993).
Eric Anthony went on to play 4 more seasons for 4 different clubs. His high-water marks over that time were 12 HRs, 30 RBIs and 32 Runs.
Mike Hampton has won 146 games, 1 Gold Glove and 5 Silver Slugger awards since the trade (73 of those w/Houston). He finished 2nd in the Cy Young voting in ’99 (to Randy Johnson) when he went 22-4 with a 2.90 ERA. Mike Felder was a throw-in.
3. NY Mets trade Mike Scott to Astros for Danny Heep (1982).
Other than being traded for Mike Scott, Danny Heep’s claim to fame is that he was in the winning dugout for 2 of the most memorable plays in World Series history. When he was with the Mets in 1986, he won a ring by watching Bill Buckner let a grounder go thru his legs. Two years later, he won a ring with the Dodgers and watched Kirk Gibson limp around the bases with a walk-off HR. Altogether, Heep played 9 more seasons with 4 teams after the trade, never eclipsing more than 8 HRs, 49 RBIs or 36 Runs.
Mike Scott went on to win 114 games with Houston over the next 8 years – none more dramatic than his no-hitter to clinch the NL West. He was a 3-time All-Star and in 1986 won the NLCS MVP and the Cy Young. In the 5 year period from ’85-’89, Scott won 18, 18, 16, 14 & 20 games and his ERA never got above 3.29.
2. Baltimore Orioles trade Curt Schilling, Steve Finley & Pete Harnisch to Astros for Glenn Davis (1991).
Davis only played 3 more years after this trade, totaling 24 HRs, 85 RBIs and 83 Runs. He had 4 individual years in Houston that surpassed that 3-year total with Baltimore.
Any one of these players alone would have made this a good trade. Schilling (215) and Harnisch (95) combined for 310 Major League Wins, 4200+ K’s and 7 All-Star appearances. Schilling was the Cy Young runner-up 3 times, the NLCS MVP and WS MVP. Steve Finley (I’m cutting/pasting) went on to play 14 more seasons, winning 5 Gold Gloves, and played in 2 All-Star games and 2 World Series (winning 1 ring). He is one of only 6 players in the 300/300 club (joining Barry & Bobby Bonds, Willie Mays, Andre Dawson & Reggie Sanders).
1. Boston Red Sox trade Jeff Bagwell to Astros for Larry Andersen (1990).
When he was with the Astros, I had the pleasure of becoming good friends with LA. He is one of the best guys you would ever want to meet, and was probably one of the best set-up men in the game. It sucks that he will forever be known as the guy on the other end of this deal, but it is what it is. Andersen gave Boston 22 efficient innings in the play-off hunt of 1990 and was saddled with the loss in Game 1 of the ALCS (which Oakland swept in 4).
Bagwell came to Houston and totaled 2314 hits, 449 HRs, 1500+ RBIs and Runs, and 200+ Steals. He was a 4-time All-Star, won 3 Silver Slugger, 1 Gold Glove, 1 Rookie of the Year and 1 MVP awards. (He also finished 2nd in the ’99 MVP to Chipper Jones.) If he is not the greatest ball-player that ever played for Houston, it is only because of a shoulder injury that cut his career short and (should be) 1st ballot HOF’er Craig Biggio.
There were 2 other deals that deserve special consideration, though they weren’t really “trades†but rather cash deals:1974 . . . Astros get Jose Cruz from St. Louis for undisclosed amount. Cruz’s numbers with Houston: 1870 games, 1937 hits, 138 HRs, 871 Runs, 942 RBIs, 288 Steals and 2 All-Star appearances.
1975 . . . Astros get Joe Niekro from Atlanta for $35,000. Niekro played for Houston for 11 years, winning 144 games – 21 of them shut-outs. In 1979, he was an All-Star and the runner up for the Cy Young (to Bruce Sutter) in 1979. FYI: J.R. Richard finished 3rd that same year.
{ Others receiving votes: }
1975 . . . Astros get Art Howe from Pittsburgh for Tommy Helms
1981 . . . Astros get Dickie Thon from Anaheim for Ken Forsch
1982 . . . Astros get Kevin Bass, Frank DiPino & Mike Madden from Milwaukee for Don Sutton
1988 . . . Astros get Mark Portugal from Minnesota for Todd McClure
