Jose Cruz, J.R.Richard and Jimmy Wynn should all be in the Hall of Fame. Don't think so? Read these tributes, they will change your mind: http://www.astrosdaily.com/files/team/tributes.html ------------------ When we tire of well-worn ways, we seek for new. This restless craving in the souls of men spurs them to climb, and to seek the mountain view. -- Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Sorry Bob, I gotta disagree. While the players enjoyed good success with the Astros, they don't belong in the Hall of Fame. Many teams have players that have had similar careers. When too many make it, it diminishes the significance. Wynn's career average was .250 and he did not drive in 1000 runs. He had some great HR numbers considering the Dome, but his lifetime total was still only 291. He had some great assist numbers (20 in 1968) but also made a lot of errors. His lifetime fielding pct was .980...as a comparison, Terry Puhl was .993. Richard has two strikes against him. The first was the stroke took him down prior to him really establishing a run of good seasons. He only had 4 quality seasons and he was working on a Pedro Martinez type year when the stroke hit. His second strike was the cocaine use. Of the 3, Cruz would have the best opportunity, but nothing about his career stats stands out. His highest average was .318. He never drove in 100 runs nor did he ever score 100 runs. His high water mark in home runs was 17. Cruz had 126 career assists but he also had 120 career errors, a terrible ratio. A great trivia question is "Name a player who hit a grand slam in his last major league at bat." The answer is Jose Cruz. I loved watching those 3 guys play and they supplied a lot of thrills, but they aren't worthy of hall of fame consideration. (although they should have received more votes than Jim Deshaies.) ------------------
I would have to agree with bobrek, although I loved watching JR and Jose Cruzzzzzzzzzz If not for the stroke, I believe JR Richard could have one of the best pitchers of all time, he had some wicked stuff. Its a shame what happened to him not only on the field but off the field to. I am glad he`s gotten his act together. ------------------
It seems every "good" player needs to be in. I really think the selection process has come down to being a watered down process. I think Hall of Fame needs better selection. I am not necessarily saying the three should not be in, but I concur with bobrek in his stance that the facts don't work in their favor. ------------------ Sometimes you gotta do the next best thing!
Jose Cruz is the only one of the three that truly deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. ------------------ "Blues is a Healer" --John Lee Hooker
The only reason I say Cruz and Wynn should be in the hall is, They both have much better numbers than Phil Rizzuto. Rizzuto hit .273 to Wynn's .250, all other numbers aren't even close. If Rizzuto is in, then Wynn and Cruz should be in. Must be because they didn't play for the Yanks. It just pisses me off that Houston Sports teams and players (except Bagwell) get no respect from the national media. ------------------ When we tire of well-worn ways, we seek for new. This restless craving in the souls of men spurs them to climb, and to seek the mountain view. -- Ella Wheeler Wilcox
I'm with you BobFinn*, but I do think if we had to start it all over again, then the selection has to be so much tighter. ------------------ Sometimes you gotta do the next best thing!
