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.

Righty flame throwing righty starting pitcher J.R. Richard’s career was cut way too short but there was nothing he could do about it. On July 30th, 1980 while playing catch before a game Richard suffered a stroke and collapsed on the field. He was taken to the hospital and he underwent left-threatening surgery to remove a blood clot in his neck. He never pitched in the majors again which is a shame because he was just starting to hit his stride. In his last season in the majors (1980), Richard pitched in 17 games (all starts) for the Astros and he was 10-4 with a 1.90 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP. He only allowed 65 hits in 113 2/3 innings that season while whiffing 119 batters showing just how nasty his stuff was. That wasn’t the only year he pitched outstanding though. In his last five years of his career, Richard pitched in 166 games (all starts) in which he was 84-55 with a 2.79 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. Richard’s major league career ended at the age of 30. He finished his career having pitched in 238 games (221 starts) in which he was 107-71 with a 3.15 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP.