All rights reserved. And that question was who the toughest pitcher he faced in his career was. A shame. He was named Most Valuable Player in 1977, 1980, 1983 and 1984. It's my belief that he's the greatest pitcher the Astros have ever had, greater even than Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens and Roy Oswalt.

Craig Biggio, C/2B/OF: No. Lift Up Local, Get the most out of your experience with a personalized all-access pass to everything local on events, music, restaurants, news and more.
Nolan Ryan, pitcher: No. Jimmy Wynn, outfielder: No. When Cruz retired, he was among the Astros’ all-time leaders in games, at-bats, runs, hits, doubles, triples, RBIs and extra-base hits. I was just looking at this again. Contact Us, Let's stipulate that the Houston Astros have retired too many numbers, especially for a franchise that's been to just one World Series. Larry Dierker, pitcher: No. He was the MVP of the 1986 NLCS despite the team losing to the Mets. Jose Cruz, OF: No. *Detroit retired longtime broadcaster Ernie Harwell's "EH.". 6.1IP, 4H/1R (0ER), 3K:3BB. Here are the former Astros whose numbers have been retired: Jim Umbricht, pitcher, No. No National has had their number retired by the organization. Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our terms of use, our cookies policy, and our privacy policy. He was diagnosed with lymphoma in 1963 but returned later that season. 25Number retired: Oct. 3, 1992One of the most popular players in franchise history, the left-handed-hitting Puerto Rican played 13 of his 19 Major League seasons with the Astros, earning team Most Valuable Player honors four times (1977, '80, '83, '84) and two All-Star Game nods ('80, '85).

Umbricht was traded to Pittsburgh for Emil Panko. Staff, In 1987, Scott was the National League starter in the All-Star Game, and threw two scoreless innings. The Astros can't right the wrongs of having retired too many numbers. However, they can right the wrong of having treated Richard like a nonentity for so long. He threw a record-setting fifth no-hitter in 1981 and surpassed Walter Johnson as MLB’s all-time strikeout king on April 27, 1983. Help, Don't have an account yet? To find out more, visit our cookies policy and our privacy policy. The reliever went 4-0 with a 2.01 ERA in 34 games in '62. 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson. It's a pretty tragic story. 5 of Hall of Famers Jeff Bagwell (2007) and the No. Their other retired numbers include a pair of players who passed away while with the Astros, a successful pitcher-turned-broadcaster-turned-manager and a former National League Cy Young Award winner. *The Giants have four "numbers" retired of people who didn't have a number: Christy Mathewson and manager John McGraw, and two broadcasters: Lon Simmons and Russ Hodges. He was diagnosed with lymphoma during the spring of '63 and returned to pitch later that season, going 4-3 with a 2.61 ERA. Number retired by Astros in 1996 The all time strikeout king played nine seasons for the Astros where he struck out a total of 1,866 batters and won 106 games Tossed his 5th no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1981 Nolan Ryan's career stats » Jeff Bagwell, first baseman: No. 5, number retired: Aug. 26, 2007. So of course I had it on a sports talk station, and the hosts, for some reason I can't remember, were speaking to Atlanta Braves great Dale Murphy (and bitch all you want about Jeff Bagwell not having made the Hall of Fame, but I still can't fathom why Murphy's yet to be inducted when Jim Rice and Andre Dawson were inducted). In addition, the Astros have not issued the number 17 since Lance Berkman was traded in 2010. CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS: California Privacy Policy | California Collection Notice | Do Not Sell My Info.

From 1976 through the 1979 season, he averaged 18.5 wins a season (on teams so bad that last year's Astros squad would have looked good) while averaging 281 innings pitched a season. Craig Biggio, catcher/second baseman/outfielder: No. Biggio had the most doubles by any right-handed hitter in history with 668. And during that span, he twice eclipsed 300 strikeouts in a season. Pittsburgh rewarded him with a call-up. HOUSTON -- The Astros don't have a formula for retiring numbers, which is why they have nine retired numbers and only two players in the Hall of Fame who are wearing an Astros cap on their plaque. During Spring Training in 1963 Umbricht was golfing with Colt .45s GM Paul Richards aka ", Five days later, Umbricht's roommate Ken Johnson threw 8.2IP, 5H/3ER, 3K:1BB at Cincinnati in a. ---- Hall of Fame season is well underway... [ Article also up at The Crawfish Boxes !] The Cardinals have retired numbers for 10 players, two managers, one owner and one broadcaster, and the safe bet for the next number is Yadier Molina’s No. Want me to never post an auto-play video? It also honors the team broadcasters, and hopefully it will honor others who played significant roles in the history of the team. In 266 career games with the Astros, including 245 starts, he won 104 games and threw the first no-hitter in a domed stadium on June 18, 1967, whiffing Hank Aaron for the final out. *Cleveland enjoyed 455 straight sell-outs and officially retired the number 455 in honor of the fans. Well, everything new doesn't want to. Mike Scott's number 33 was retired by the Houston Astros in 1992. Led NL in stolen bases in 1947 and 1949. His health deteriorated in the offseason and he died at 33 years old on April 8, 1964 -- five days before Houston's season opener. One of the things the Astros have started under new owner Jim Crane is the Astros Walk of Fame. Brian McTaggart has covered the Astros since 2004, and for MLB.com since 2009. Follow Houston Press on Facebook and on Twitter @HairBallsNews or @HoustonPress. Holds fielding mark for second baseman playing in 150 or more games with .992.
When he retired, he was among the franchise's all-time leaders in every significant offensive category, including games, at-bats, runs, hits, doubles, triples, RBIs and extra-base hits. Larry Dierker made his major league debut for the Colt .45s on Sept. 22, 1964, his 18th birthday. Email us at astroscounty (at) gmail.com, (Take a picture with it, and send it in. The thing about the Walk of Fame, about what the Astros appear to be doing with it, is honoring players who deserve recognition by the team, but don't always deserve to have their numbers retired. *San Diego retired owner Ray Kroc and broadcaster's Jerry Coleman's "numbers.". Dierker won 137 games in 13 seasons and spent 18 seasons as a team broadcaster. Wynn was the first Astros player to hit three home runs in a game and left Houston ranked among club leaders in hits with 1,291, home runs and RBIs. For a team that's seen fit to retire the number of Mike Scott, a good but not great pitcher, and Jimmy Wynn and Jose Cruz, good but not great outfielders, it's not enough merely to induct Richard into the team's brand-new Walk of Fame. So how is it that the Astros have retired more numbers than the Phillies, who have been around for 79 more seasons, or the same number as the Pirates, who have been around since 1882? The number 42 is retired by Major League Baseball in honor of Jackie Robinson. A Houston Astros uniform numbers list by Baseball Almanac which includes every single uniform number ever worn by every single Houston Astros player in history. Milwaukee was the Braves' home from 1953-1965.

While he did spend the majority of his career as an Astro, he probably wasn't good enough in his time there to demand retirement. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2017. The old ballplayer cared about the name on the front. Mike Scott was traded to Houston in 1982 for outfielder Danny Heep. Those two people being new owner Jim Crane and the new team president, George Postolos. Without hesitation he answered J.R. Richard. Don Wilson, pitcher, No. About Us, And tonight the Astros are adding another name to the Walk of Fame, that name being J.R. Richard. He'd started for the National League in the All-Star Game. He was NL Manager of the Year in 1998. HOUSTON -- The Astros don't have a formula for retiring numbers, which is why they have nine retired numbers and only two players in the Hall of Fame who are wearing an Astros cap on their plaque. Jimmy Wynn, OF: No. But let's get them to go all of the way. Careers, Umbricht was born on September 17, 1930 in Chicago and went on to the University of Georgia. And this is coming from a player who faced Hall of Famers Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, Steve Carlton and Don Sutton on a regular basis. So it's nice to see that the Astros are finally honoring him. He went 110-81 with a 3.30 ERA from 1983 to 1991. - Steve Garvey … Here's a look at the Astros' retired numbers. Get the latest updates in news, food, music and culture, and receive special offers direct to your inbox, Tropical Storm Beta Will Bring Lots of Rain, But It's Not Harvey, Health Department Says Proof Is In The Pooping For Houston's Slowing Spread of COVID-19, Do the Right Thing, Astros. 49, number retired: May 19, 2002. Ryan finished his career with the Texas Rangers, but became a Texas legend in Houston. Houston Astros Uniform Numbers. Umbricht spent 1959 with Triple-A Salt Lake City where, at 2.78, he posted the 7th-lowest ERA in the PCL, and only walked 43 batters. Umbricht's family moved to Decatur, Georgia for his father's work and was, He was a workhorse for the Topeka Hawks (1957) and transitioned to relief for the Atlanta Crackers in 1958. Like not seeing ads? Umbricht was selected by the Houston Colt .45s with the 35th pick in the 1961 Major League Baseball expansion draft .

34Number retired: Sept. 29, 1996Ryan pitched nine of his 27 Major League seasons for his hometown Astros, throwing his record-setting fifth no-hitter in 1981 and surpassing Walter Johnson as baseball's all-time strikeout king on April 27, 1983. Of those nine, three are Hall of Famers, including Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell, who wear Astros caps on their plaques.

5, number retired: Aug. 26, 2007 Bagwell played for the Astros for his entire 15-year career. Regard: Number of retired numbers, by team, with year they were established in parentheses (not counting Jackie Robinson, whose number was retired across MLB. 33Number retired: Oct. 3, 1992An underachieving pitcher with the Mets at the start of his career, Scott was traded to Houston in 1982 for outfielder Danny Heep and blossomed into one of the most dominant right-handers in the NL. *Of course the Montreal Expos became the Washington Nationals in 2005. We'll post it), Hurricane Harvey, Justin Verlander, and the Astros, All-State in basketball and baseball in 1948, become the first general manager for Houston, the Colt .45s purchased Umbricht for $50,000. Repeat wildfires ruining grapes in Napa Valley, NFL postpones Sunday's Titans-Steelers game due to COVID-19, US extends ban on cruise ships through October, Irish court rules Subway sandwiches too sugary to legally be called bread, Granddaughter surprises her 'Paw-Paw' with tickets to the World Series, Justin Verlander now has more postseason strikeouts than any other pitcher in MLB history, Here's how the Houston Astros got their name. He was a seven-time All-Star, a four-time Gold Glove winner and a five-time Silver Slugger.