Houston Astros of the ‘80s, Part one: Why I liked the Astros

The uniform for the Houston Astros in the 1980s.

Source: https://thebaseballgauge.com

(may be subject to copyright)

There is not one thing I think I can put my finger on, or one thing I can point to, that turned me on to the Houston Astros. It could actually be a number of things.

The first time I saw them play was against the Montreal Expos on CBC, and catching for them was Alan Ashby. He had been the catcher for the Toronto Blue Jays, who I really knew only through his baseball card. Yet he felt like a Canadian to me.

I had seen the Major League All-star Game where there was this towering pitcher named J.R. Richard who absolutely threw heat. Los Angeles Manager Tom Lasorda was part of the National League All-Star team coaching staff and he joked with Richard, who played in the same division as Lasorda’s Dodgers, to take it easy on the Dodgers. Back then, Richard’s Astros played in the National League West.

After that, I started paying attention to J.R. Richard. He was big and imposing on the mound, towering at six feet, eight inches, looming over opposing batters. He had a high leg kick and that 100-mile-per hour fastball. He became one of my favourite players. He was a blossoming talent who would emerge as the Astros’ ace.

The Astros were managed by Bill Virdon, who looked like a professor in the dugout. He wore glasses and took notes, and seemed very academic. He got results and I just liked the way he carried himself and managed the ball club. I wrote a novel a few years ago, and one of the characters, the head of an organization, is not only named after Bill Virdon, but also modeled on him.

The Astros had these unique uniforms. The star on the front looked like a rainbow with layers of colours peeled back. I hadn’t seen anything like it.

And, from the back of a baseball card, I read that Terry Puhl, who played outfield for the Astros, was Canadian. He was from Melville, Saskatchewan.

One thing that people thought, but had not factored in, was the movie “The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training”. In it, the Bears make their way to Houston for an exhibition game in the Astrodome, where they meet two real-life Astros – Bob Watson and Cesar Cedeno. It was after I started cheering for the Astros, that I saw the movie. In fact by then, Watson wasn’t even playing for Houston. He’d already moved on.

So, you put all this stuff together, and that’s how I came to cheer for the Astros.

Not ready for prime time – in Canada

The challenge in the three-channel universe was there was not that much baseball televised on peasant vision. In the days before TSN or Sportsnet, there wasn’t that much more baseball on cable.

Usually once a week CBC would broadcast a Montreal Expos game, while over on CTV they would air Blue Jays Baseball on Wednesday nights. Since Houston played in the National League, I saw them maybe once or twice when they played the Expos.

Beyond that, I followed the Astros through the sports news, and reading the occasional newspaper.

Coulda been a contenda

The year 1979 was the first time I seriously watched baseball. It coincided with the Astros’ making a serious run for the National League West title. That year they were neck and neck with the Cincinnati Reds and the remnants of their Big Red Machine that won two World Series championships.

The teams battled right to the end of the season, before the Reds prevailed, taking the division by a game and a half. It was Houston’s best record to date, and they were getting closer to the top. They just needed a couple pieces to put them over the top – and they were coming.

Strength up the middle

About that time I really started to follow baseball, and along with it I first learned about free agency. The big free agent that year was Nolan Ryan, the big, hard-throwing pitcher with the California Angels. There were a lot of teams interested in Ryan, but the kid from Texas decided to return closer to home and signed with the Houston Astros.

Another Texas native also joined the Astros to provide solid leadership, defence and offence. Second baseman Joe Morgan, who had beaten the Astros the year before as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, was coming home. Not only was he from Texas, but had started his Major League career with Houston when they were still the Colt .45s. He was part of a blockbuster deal with Cincinnati that made the Big Red Machine and decimated the Astros.

Interestingly, years later as an announcer, Morgan talked about building a team up the middle. Here was an example of doing just that.

These additions would make the difference.

Parting thoughts

The conditions seemed right for the Astros to take the next step, but 162 games is a long time for a baseball team to soar to heights and plunge to new depths.

The 1980 season would have a lot of both in an unforgettable year that culminated in an historic finish.