Righty swinging 3B Enos Cabell was with the Astros when they lacked power but had a lot of jackrabbits on the bases. Cabell fit right in with the Astros’ playing style. His best season with the Astros was back in 1978 when he finished 22nd in the voting for the MVP Award. Cabell played in all 162 games for the Astros last year and he was 195 for 660 (.295 avg, .720 OPS) with 92 runs scored, 7 homers, 71 RBIs and 33 stolen bases. Cabell played 8 years for the Astros appearing in 1,067 games in which he was 1,124 for 4,005 (.281 avg, .693 OPS) with 522 runs scored, 45 homers, 405 RBIs and 191 stolen bases. Cabell is #10 in Astros’ history in hits with 1,124. He is also 8th in triples (45) and he is tied for 7th with Bill Doran in steals in Astros’ history with 191 of them.

Righty reliever Dave Smith burst onto the scene with the Astros in 1980 when he finished 5th in the voting for the N.L. Rookie of the Year Award. Smith pitched in 57 games (0 starts) for the Astros in 1980 and he was 7-5 with 10 saves, a 1.93 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Smith went on to pitch 11 years with the Astros in which he appeared in 563 games (1 starts) and he was 53-47 with 199 saves, a 2.53 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Smith is the Astros’ all-time leader in games pitched with 563. He’s also #2 in saves (199), tied for #3 in ERA (2.53) with Billy Wagner and he is #9 in WHIP (1.19) in Astros’ history. Smith made 2 All-Star teams with the Astros and he was one of the most underrated relievers in team history.

Back in the days of the Houston AstroDome the Astros built their team on speed and Cesar Cedeno definitely fit that mold. From 1972-74, Cedeno had at least 22 homers and 55 stolen bases in each of those three years. Cedeno played 12 years for the Astros appearing in 1,512 games in which he was 1,659 of 5,732 (.289 avg, .805 OPS) with 890 runs scored, 163 homers, 778 RBIs and 487 stolen bases. Cedeno made 4 N.L. All-Star Teams and he won 5 Gold Gloves in his career with the Astros. He is the Astros all-time leader in steals with 487. He’s also #6 in games played (1,512), #4 in runs scored (890), #4 in hits (1,659), #4 in doubles (343), tied for 5th in triples (55), #6 in homers (163), #6 in RBIs (778) and he’s #9 in walks (534) in Astros’ history. Cedeno was one of the Astros’ all-time greats.

Righty knuckleballer Joe Niekro is likely hoping the Astros trade Roy Oswalt soon as he is the teams’ all-time leader in wins (144) which only has him 4 ahead of Oswalt. Niekro was a 1 time All-Star with the Astros and he finished 2nd in the Cy Young Award voting in 1979. Niekro pitched in 397 games (301 starts) in his 11 years with the Astros and he was 144-116, with 9 saves, a 3.22 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. He has pitched in the 4th most games (397) in team history and he’s #2 in starts with 301. Niekro also is #2 in innings pitched (2,270), #8 in whiffs (1,178), #2 in complete games (82) and he’s tied for second in shutouts (21) with Mike Scott. Joe wasn’t as good as his bro Phil who is in baseball’s Hall of Fame but he was still a darn good pitcher in his own right.

Lefty swinging Jose Cruz Sr. was a solid player in his career with the Astros. Cruz played in 1,870 games in his 13 years with the Astros in which he was 1,937 for 6,629 (.292 avg, .789 OPS) with 871 runs scored, 138 homers, 942 RBIs and 288 stolen bases. Cruz hit over .300 six times for the Astros. He also made two All-Star teams and he got votes for the MVP Award 5 times while he was with the Astros. Cruz is #3 all-time in Astros’ history in games played (1,870), #3 in hits (1,937), #7 in batting average (.292), #5 in runs scored (871), #8 in homers (138), #4 in RBIs (942) and #3 in stolen bases (288). Cruz was one of the best players the Astros ever had, period.