Craig Alan Biggio is an American former second baseman, outfielder and catcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career from 1988 through 2007 for the Houston Astros. A seven-time National League (NL) All-Star often regarded as the greatest all-around player in Astros history, he is the only player ever to be named an All-Star and to be awarded Silver Slugger Award at both catcher and second base. With longtime teammates Jeff Bagwell and Lance Berkman, he formed the core of the "Killer B's" who led Houston to six playoff appearances from 1997 to 2005, culminating in the franchise's first World Series appearance in 2005. At the end of his career, he ranked sixth in NL history in games played (2,850), fifth in at bats (10,876), 21st in hits (3,060), and seventh in runs scored (1,844). His 668 career doubles ranked sixth in major league history, and are the second-most ever by a right-handed hitter; his 56 doubles in 1999 were the most in the major leagues in 63 years.
William Lance Berkman, nicknamed "Fat Elvis" and "Big Puma", is an American baseball coach and former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman, who is the current head baseball coach of the Houston Christian Huskies. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers. Berkman is a six-time MLB All-Star and won a World Series championship and the National League Comeback Player of the Year Award with the Cardinals in 2011. He stands 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m), and weighs 220 pounds (100 kg). Berkman spent various seasons of his career as a regular at all three outfield positions.
Donald Lee Blasingame, nicknamed "Blazer", was an American professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1955–1959), San Francisco Giants (1960–1961), Cincinnati Reds (1961–1963), Washington Senators (1963–1966), and Kansas City Athletics (1966). Blasingame threw right-handed, batted left-handed and was listed as 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and 160 pounds (73 kg).
Luis Bienvenido Pujols Toribio is a Dominican former professional baseball player coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher from 1977 to 1985, most prominently as a member of the Houston Astros where he helped the franchise win its first-ever National League Western Division title and postseason berth in 1980. He also played for the Kansas City Royals and the Texas Rangers. Although Pujols didn't produce impressive offensive statistics, he excelled defensively which enabled him to sustain a nine-year career as a back-up catcher.
Dennis Martin Walling is a former Major League Baseball player. Walling played all or parts of 18 seasons in the majors, from 1975 to 1992. His most frequent position was third base, but he also saw significant time as an outfielder and first baseman.
Jimmy Dale Sexton is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros, Oakland Athletics, and St. Louis Cardinals. Sexton signed his first professional contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1970. In his minor league career, Sexton batted .282 with 951 hits in 3,373 at-bats, and 137 doubles, 36 triples, and 30 home runs. In his major league career, Sexton batted .218 with 81 hits in 372 at-bats, with 9 doubles, 3 triples, 5 home runs, 24 RBIs, and 36 stolen bases.
Milton Scott May is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1984 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, and San Francisco Giants.
Gary Lynn Sutherland, nicknamed "Sudsy", is an American former professional baseball middle infielder. He played college baseball at the University of Southern California and later played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1966 to 1978.
Walter Franklin Bond was an American professional baseball player who appeared in 365 games over six Major League Baseball seasons between 1960 and 1967 for the Cleveland Indians, Houston Colt .45s/Astros and Minnesota Twins. An outfielder and first baseman, he played the last five seasons of his 11-year professional career after being diagnosed with leukemia while serving in the United States Army in 1962. The disease eventually took Bond's life in the closing weeks of the 1967 baseball season — a year during which he had made the Twins' roster coming out of spring training.
The St. Louis Cardinals 2001 season was the team's 120th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 110th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 93–69 during the season and finished tied for first in the National League Central division with the Houston Astros. Because the Cardinals and Astros were best two teams in the National League, both from the Central Division, and both finished five games ahead of the third-place Chicago Cubs, the Astros were awarded the NL Central champion and the number 1 seed in the playoffs due to winning the season series 9–7, and the Cardinals were seeded as the wild-card.
The St. Louis Cardinals 1999 season was the team's 118th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 108th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 75-86 during the season and finished 4th in the National League Central division, 21½ games behind the Houston Astros.
James Edward Beauchamp was a Major League Baseball first baseman and outfielder who played from 1963 to 1973 for the St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Colt .45s/Astros, Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, and New York Mets. He attended Grove High School in Grove, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University before being signed by the Cardinals in 1957. He was the father of former minor league baseball player Kash Beauchamp. He was 6'2' and weighed 205 pounds.
The 2001 Houston Astros season was the 40th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise in Houston, Texas.
The 1998 Houston Astros season was the 37th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise in Houston, Texas. On the strength of a club record 102 wins, they rocketed to a second consecutive trip to the postseason with an National League Central title. They did not win 100 games again until 2017, while the record for wins would be broken the following year. On September 14, the Astros clinched the division title when the Chicago Cubs lost. The next day, Craig Biggio became the first Astro to collect 200 hits in a season.
The 1969 Houston Astros season was a season in American baseball. The team finished in fifth place in the newly established National League West with a record of 81–81, twelve games behind the Atlanta Braves. It was also the first time in their history that the Astros did not finish below .500.
The 1969 San Francisco Giants season was the Giants' 87th season in Major League Baseball, their 12th season in San Francisco since their move from New York following the 1957 season, and their tenth at Candlestick Park. The team finished second in the newly established National League West Division with a record of 90–72, 3 games behind the Atlanta Braves, their fifth consecutive season of finishing second. The Giants set a Major League record which still stands for the most double plays grounded into by a team in a single game, with 7 against the Houston Astros on May 4.
The 1987 Atlanta Braves season was the 117th in franchise history and their 22nd in Atlanta.
Harold Noel Breeden was an American Major League Baseball player. Hal was a rarity in that he was a right-handed hitter who threw left-handed. He was also the brother of catcher Danny Breeden. After retirement from baseball, he served as Sheriff of Lee County, Georgia for twenty years until 2008.
Ronald Everette Davis was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) during 1962, and from 1966 to 1969, for the Houston Colt .45s / Astros, St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Aledmys Díaz Serrano is a Cuban professional baseball utility player for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros. He played for the Naranjas de Villa Clara in the Cuban National Series from 2007 through 2012, before defecting to the United States. Díaz signed with the Cardinals in 2014, and made his MLB debut with them in 2016.