2005 Houston Astros

After signing pitcher Andy Pettite and luring hometown hero Roger Clemens out of retirement, it seemed a foregone conclusion that the Houston Astros would turn their near-miss in the 2003 National League Central Division race into a 2004 World Series championship. After a hot start, the Astros faded, costing manager Jimy Williams his job. Even so, the Astros, under new manager Phil Garner, grabbed the National League Wild Card spot. With Astros fans aware of the possibilities for 2005 and more than willing to come to games at beautiful Minute Maid Park, Astros tickets are still a hot commodity.

The Houston Colt .45s joined the NL as an expansion team in 1962 as part of Major League Baseball's foray into untouched areas of the country. After three seasons, the club moved into the Astrodome—the country's first indoor baseball stadium—and took on a high-tech name, the Astros. Starring on early teams were outfielders Rusty Staub and Jim Wynn. In 1970 César Cedeño joined the team and batted .310 as a 19-year-old rookie.

After a couple of weak decades, the Astros built several strong teams during the 1980s, winning two division titles and fielding stars such as outfielders Jose Cruz and Cesar Cedeño and pitchers Joe Niekro, J. R. Richard, Nolan Ryan, and Mike Scott. Houston first baseman Jeff Bagwell earned the NL Rookie of the Year award in 1991 and the NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in 1994.

Fine fielding and good pitching helped the Astros remain competitive during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Cedeño won five consecutive Gold Glove Awards for fielding excellence, and pitcher J. R. Richard led the league in strikeouts in 1978 and 1979, becoming the first right-hander in the NL to strike out more than 300 hitters in one season. Midway through the 1980 season, Richard suffered a career-ending stroke. The Astros managed to hold on to their lead with help from pitcher Joe Niekro, winning their first division title. The club lost to the Phillies in the NL Championship Series. In 1983 Nolan Ryan broke the career strikeout record of 3,509 held by Walter Johnson.

The Astros won another division championship in 1986 under first-year manager Hal Lanier, who was named NL manager of the year. Mike Scott led the major leagues with a 2.22 earned run average (ERA) and 306 strikeouts, becoming the franchise's first Cy Young Award winner. Houston lost to the New York Mets in the NL Championship Series. On his way to becoming NL MVP in 1994, Bagwell broke single-season team records for batting average, home runs, runs batted in (RBIs), and extra-base hits.

After second-place finishes in 1995 and 1996, Houston won the NL Central Division title in 1997 behind the pitching of Darryl Kile and the consistent hitting of the 'Killer B's'—Bagwell, second baseman Craig Biggio, and outfielder Derek Bell. In the first round of the NL playoffs, however, the Astros were swept by the Atlanta Braves, 3 games to 0. The Astros won the Central Division title again in 1998 and 1999 but lost in the first round both years. Before the 2000 season, the Astros left the Astrodome and moved to a new home park, Minute Maid Park.