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| Leo hoped, actually he needed Cesar Cedeno to be the "next Willie Mays" |
Tommy Helms
and Roger Metzger, though lacking in the power numbers, both hit .250 or
above and displayed solid defensive work around second base. Metzger led
the National League with 14 triples. Helms provided clutch hits like the
two-run single that completed a 9-7 comeback win in Montreal on July 8th.
The only major change to the lineup was an illness that forced catcher Johnny Edwards
to sit. Skip Jutze, acquired from St. Louis during the off-season with
Johnny Bench-like raves, filled in well behind the plate but he hit just
.223 with no homers while standing next to it.
It was the pitching that faltered. Larry Dierker and Tom Griffin both missed substantial time with injuries. Don Wilson struggled and spent time in the bullpen.
Dave Roberts (17 wins) and Jerry Reuss (16 wins) stepped up to lead the staff. Ken Forsch and J.R. Richard
took turns in the rotation. Richard got his first big league shutout
against the Dodgers on August 1st. The bullpen was a mess, with nobody
earning more than six saves.
Leo Durocher
complained about the modern ballplayer, took ill during midseason, and
decided that retirement wasn't such a bad idea. Nobody knew it at the
time,
but the season finale in Atlanta would be the last of his Hall-Of-Fame
career. The stadium was packed on September 30th but it wasn't to say
goodbye
to Leo. After a blast against Reuss in the previous game, Hank Aaron was
one homer shy of Babe Ruth's career home run record. Many VIPs,
including Gov. Jimmy Carter, came to see Aaron tie and maybe break
baseball's most hallowed mark. Dave Roberts
"held" Aaron to three singles and Houston won, 5-3. Durocher went out
as a winner with his club finishing 82-80, even though they had slid
back to fourth place.
(c) Bob Hulsey - Astrodaily.com
To complete the full team set I had to add 23 additional cards.
Hovering just above the .500 mark on July 20, the Astros host a rare in-season exhibition game at the Astrodome. The Detroit Tigers visit and, in a game of little importance, the Astros send 56-year-old coach Hub Kittle to pitch in the ninth inning. The Tigers counter by sending 51-year-old coach Art Fowler to pitch in the game as well. Detroit manager Billy Martin even pinch-hits and strikes out. Astros manager Leo Durocher arranges for comedian Jerry Lewis to play in the game at first base. Lewis plays first base for five innings and performs surprisingly well, going 1-for-1 with a walk.
After a brief cup of coffee with the Red Sox in '72 Gallagher got to play in 71 games for the 'Stros and hit .264 as the team's 4th outfielder. Whe he tried to repeat this role in '74 and slumped miserably. The 'Stros dealt him to the Mets, where he played in just 33 games in '75 and hit .133. After hitting a powerless .258 in San Fran's Phoenix AAA team he was given his release. His grandfather, Shano Collins, was a Major League outfielder/manager and a player in the 1917 and 1919 World Series. In a four-season career, Gallagher was a .220 hitter (56-for-255) with two home runs and 13 RBI in 213 games played, including 34 runs, one triple, and one stolen base. His big moment in '73 came when he hit an inside the park Grand slam vs Detroit at the Astrodome in a rare in season exhibition game that the 'Stros won 10-7.
Upshaw came over from Atlanta at the end of April in exchange for Norm Miller. The change in scenery didn't do him much good as he finished with a 2-3, 4.46 record with just 1 save in 35 appearances. Upshaw moved on to Cleveland, the Bronx and Chicago over the next 2 season before hanging up. His career was actually cut short due to an unfortunate incident in 1970. He and two other Braves players were walking down an Atlanta sidewalk and one of the other players bet him he could not jump up and touch an overhead awning. He did reach the awning, but a ring on his pitching hand ring finger got caught on a projection off of the awning and tore ligaments in his hand. He never fully recovered, but was considered one of the better pitchers in major league baseball up to that time. He died at age 52 of a heart attack in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
Houston was the first stop on the train for the well traveled Cliff Johnson (7 teams / 15 years). Cliff spent the first 5 1/2 years of his career with Houston as the 'Stros tried to figure out if he was a catcher, or a first baseman or an outfielder. In just 7 games he hit and even .300. Eventually he would find his niche' as a DH/PH where he hit 196 homers and batted .258 over his career. He held the record for career PH homers (20) until Matt Stairs broke it in 2010. His career and reputation took a downturn in 1979 when he got into a brawl with Goose Gossage causing the HOF closer to miss 2 months of action. For his troubles, Cliff was traded to major league baseball's version of an abyss...Cleveland.
Soupy hit .267 in just 9 games for the 'Stros in '73. He would hit .087 the folling year and never play in the majors again. Don't feel too bad for him. He cobbled together an 8 year career as a utility infielder, which he parlayed into a great gig as a broadcaster on ESPN. His voice can also be heard on MLB the Show video game, where he does the play by play.
Konieczny appeared in just 2 games (0-1, 5.54) for Houston in 1973. In his one full season in the biggs (1975) he pitched in 32 games (171 IP) and did not impress at all (6-13, 4.47). His AAA numbers in Denver and Memphis weren't all that impressive either. In 1978 he was dropped down to A ball where he pitched 3 games and was released. Konieczny was the Astros' first-round pick in the secondary phase of the 1971 Major League Baseball Draft.
Sutherland's career was resurrected due to MLB expanding by 4 teams in 1969. That gave him a chance to play regularly in Montreal, where he played well in the field (led all 2B in DP's turned), but hit lightly. Montreal traded him to Houston in '72 for a minor leaguer and cash. He spent most of that season in AAA, where he hit .299 in OKC. In '73 he was given a chance to compete for a utility role, but spent most of the season again in AAA (Denver). He got into 16 games with the parent club and hit .259. At season's end he was dealt to Detroit, where he was given ample playing time and performed well. Sutherland played at USC and was a teammate of Tom Seaver's playing under the great Rod Dedeaux
Gross hit well on every level in the Astros farm system, so it was no shock that the hitting starved 'Stros promoted him to the big club at the tender age of 20. In just 43 AB's he hit a light .231. Earlier that year in AAA Denver he hit .330, but with no homers, which is shocking since the ball carries like a glider in Denver. Gross would come stay with the big club and hit .314 in 1974. He would spend 17 seasons in total in the majors, mostly as a 4th OF'er / pinch hitter, because he just didn't have any pop in his bat (7 career HR's in 3,745 AB's). Most fans remember him for his clutch pinch hits as a member of the 1980 Phillie championship team and their '83 pennant winner. After his playing days ended he moved into coaching.
First off I fully admit that I airbrushed this photo to make it look like he was playing for Houston. I couldn't find a photo that I could use, so I improvised. Quite frankly I think I spent more time on this than I could justify when you consider that he hit .091 in 66 AB's in his one and only season playing on the carpet. After being farmed out in '74 he resurrected his career with 2 seasons in San Diego and a finale as a member of the expansion Toronto Blue Jays.
A think we all know who James Rodney Richard is. In the prime of his dominant career (1980) he was hit with a stroke and never played again. His potential was limitless. As a 23 year old fireballer trying to find his way he fanned 75 batters in 72 inings of work to post a 6-2, 4.00 record. Just 3 short years later he would be a dominant 20 game winner, who eclipsed the 300 strikeout plateu twice and won 18 or more games for 5 straight years. His stroke came right in the middle of his most dominating season (10-4, 1.90). A tragic story to say the least.
22 year old Jim Crawford pitched in 48 games, all in relief, for the '73 Stros. His 2-4, 4.50, 6sv record was not overly impressive. His was rewarded with a trip to AAA Denver where his ERA ballooned to almost 5.00. Shockingly the 'Stros gave him another shot in '75 where he did rather well. He was traded to Detroit, where he spent 3 years under performing before being farmed out to Evansville (1-2, 7.50) in 1978, then given his release.
Houston was the next to last stop in Pizarro's solid 18 year baseball career. Pizarro's first season was way back in 1957, when he pitched for the champion Milwaukee Braves. Along the way he played for 8 different franchises, with his best years being on the South Side of Chicago (75-47). His 2-2, 6.56 record for Houston earned him his release. He appeared in just 7 games for the Pirates the following season before calling it quits.
Forsch was in the middle of an 11 year run in Houston where he would compile a 78-81, 3.18 record. 1973 saw him split time between the rotation and the pen, while posting a 9-12, 4.20, 4sv, 5CG record. On April 7, 1979, Forsch no-hit the Atlanta Braves 6–0 at the Astrodome. His brother Bob, who also pitched for the Astros, hurled two no-hitters while with the St. Louis Cardinals, making them the only set of brothers to pitch no-hit no-run games in MLB history.
Howard was dealt early in the season to the Braves for a minor leaguer. He hit just .167 in his 4th and final season in Houston.
1973 would be the final year in baseball as a manager for future HOF'er Leo the Lip. Durocher took over the team midway through the '72 season and led them to mediocrity. A win in his final game of the '73 season assured him of a winning record (82-80). Leo began to tire and slow down during his years in Chicago. By the time he arrived in Houston he was pushing 70 and out of gas. He had issues relating to the "modern player" and at times needed to take medical leaves from the team. Leo always contended that Cesar Cedeno was going to be the "next Willie Mays". Cedeno turned in a fine major league career, with dashes of brilliance, but he was definitely no Willie Mays (who was?).
Cosgrove (1-1, 1.80) pitched in just 13 games (10IP) in '73. He was given more time in '74 and (7-4, 3.50) performed well. He imporved in '75, but then bottomed out in '76 after developing arm trouble. He tried, in vain, to make comebacks in '77 and '78, but wound up being dropped from AAA to AA then to A ball before hanging it up.
The "Hit Man" was one of those "late bloomers" who didn't hit his stride until he was almost 30. In his early years with the 'Stros (73-75) he didn't get much of a chance on the major league level. When he found his stride in Pittsburgh during the '80 season there was no looking back as he produced 8 highly productive seasons as a 4th outfielder/DH. He earned a ring with the '79 Bucs as a pinch hitter.
Otis Benjamin Thornton played just 2 games in the majors and went hitless in 3 AB's for the 1973 Houston Astros. At 28 years of age he was an emergency call up to back up Houston's catchers and work with the pitchers in the bullpen. Even in the minors Thornton was your typical "catch and throw" catcher, amassing a .232 lifetime average in 10 seasons on the farm. I'm actually quite proud of my orange airbrush job on the black Houston cap he was wearing. When I looked at it here I almost forgot that I did it.
Batista got two very limited shots with the Astros ('73 & '75). In both chances he hit quite well (.267 & .300) in very limited play. He finished his career with a lifetime .280 average (7-25). He was a career .287 hitter in 11 minor league season, which begs one to ask the question, "why wasn't he given a chance?" If anyone knows the answer, please post it here and share it with the rest of us. Thankfully he forged a nice 9 year career in the Mexican League.
Ray started with Houston, went to St. Louis and then wound up back in Houston. In 15 games as a utility infielder he hit .059 for the 'Stros. In double the action in 1974 he hit just .206. he posted solid numbers in AAA Denver in '74 (.289-11-38) in 81 games. He split time between Houston and KC's AAA affiliates in '75 and impressed no one with his .247-13-66 stat line in 132 games before being released.
Alfred Henry Jutze, better known as Skip, was drafted out of Central Connecticut State University by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 4th round of the 1968 MLB amateur draft. Prior to his major league debut, Jutze taught at Candlewood Junior High School, in Dix Hills, New York. Jutze made his Major League Baseball debut with the St. Louis Cardinals on September 1, 1972, and appeared in his final game on September 21, 1977. Jutze was a member of the inaugural Seattle Mariners team that began playing in 1977. He also holds the distinction of having hit the first grand slam home run in Mariners history on May 17 of that year. As one of Houston's two main catchers he hit .233 with no homers and 18 RBI's in 278 AB's. He would spend parts of the next 3 seasons as a backup catcher with the 'Stros before moving on to Seattle.
In his 5th year out of Van Nuys, CA Griffin solidified his role as a key member of the Astros pen logging 99 innings in 25 games for a 4-6, 4.15 record. The following season he moved to the rotation and logged 211 innings and posted a very respectable 14-10, 3.54 record. That would turn out to be a career year as he slumped considerably in '75 and eventually wound up getting traded to San Diego midway through the '76 season. Griffin would go on to play for 5 clubs over 14 years and finish up in 1982 with a lifetime 77-94, 4.07 record. His career highlight was the 1 hitter he threw against the "Lumber Company" on May 7th, 1974.
After hitting .227 in 114 games during the 1972 season the Mets came to the conclusion that Agee was an "old 30" and that his best days were behind him. Often times during this era the Mets got things miserably wrong (refer to Ryan, Nolan), but in Agee's case they were spot on right. In just 84 games in Houston he hit .235 with 8 homers, while showing none of the great range in centerfield that earned him a gold glove and 1969 World Series highlights. How could it all go downhill so fast in just 4 short years? A combination of chronic knee and weight problems accelerated his decline. In a final hurrah he returned to NY on April 24th 1973 and went 2-3 with a run scored in the Astros 4-2 victory over the Mets. Midway through the season the Astros dealt him to St. Louis, where he was just as productive. He was dealt to LA at the end of the '73 season, but was cut in Spring Training and retired from baseball. Upon retirement he returned to New York and became partners with his old teammate and pal from Mobile, Alabama, Cleon Jones. For years they ran the "Outfielder's Lounge" in Corona just a stone's throw from Shea. Tragically he died at the age of 58 due to a heart attack hit him as he was leaving his office building in midtown, Manhattan.
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