Houston Astros: The Cliffs Notes

The Houston Astros are your 2017 World Series champions.  They do not have the storied history as other franchises such as the Yankees or Dodgers.   Because of this, the casual baseball fan may not know too much about the Astros.  This is where I come in and will give you all some fun facts of the Houston franchise.

1964 Topps

-The Houston Astros began in 1962 as a National League expansion team and was originally known as the Houston Colt. 45s.

-In 1965, the Houston ball club became the Astros as they entered a new start of the art stadium called the Astrodome named mainly because of the new US space program.

-The Astrodome was the first ever domed stadium and was dubbed the "8th Wonder of the World".  It has also had an artificial grass called Astroturf.

1981 Donruss

-Astros has had terrible misfortune with players.  Pitchers Jim Umbricht and Don Wilson passed away during their careers in Houston.  Star pitcher J.R. Richard suffered a stroke that ended his career and shortstop Dickie Thon's burgeoning stardom faded away after he was hit in the face by a pitch.

-1975, Bob Watson scored the One millionth run in MLB history.

1985 Fleer

-The Astros first divisional title was in 1980 and second was 1986 when Mike Scott became the only pitcher in MLB history to throw a no hitter while clinching a playoff spot.

-Other notable Astro no hitters include Nolan Ryan record breaking 5th career no-no and Ken Forsch accomplishing the feat after his brother Bob had already done it.  Making them the only brothers to each throw a no hitter.

-Houston was a beneficiary of one of the most lopsided trades in history.  Astros traded away relief pitcher Larry Andersen to the Red Sox for a minor league infielder named Jeff Bagwell. Bagwell end up spending his whole career in Houston and became a Hall of Famer.

2005 Topps

-There have been ten Hall of Famers who have played for Houston but Bagwell and Craig Biggio are the only ones who were inducted as Astros.

- Because of the 1992 Republic National Convention was held in the Astrodome, the Astros were forced to go on a 26 game 28 day road trip.

-Cardinals pitcher and long time Astro Darryl Kile passed away in his hotel room in 2003 due to a heart attack.  Each year since a Cardinal and an Astro are awarded the Darryl Kile Good Guy Award in his honor.

-Astros first pennant was in 2005 but got swept in the World Series by the Chicago White Sox.

2016 Topps Gypsy Queen

-As for major individual award winners.  Jeff Bagwell won a MVP(1994), Mike Scott(1986), Roger Clemens(2004) and Dallas Keuchel(2015) won Cy Youngs. Jeff Bagwell(1991) and Carlos Correa(2015) each won a Rookie of the Year award.

-Astros switched from the National League to the American league in 2013.

-With the Astros 2017 championship, they are the first from the state of Texas.