Altuve, Bagwell, Biggio…and Morgan?
May 7, 2024
Author: 3-1Count.com
When Jose Altuve stole his 7th base this year he hit another milestone at 300 bags for his career. This, combined with 2,000+ hits, 400+ doubles, 200+ homers, and a .300+ career average put him in truly elite historical company. Rarified air that only 4 other players have achieved. The list, interestingly, includes a couple of other middle infielders in Roberto Alomar and Derek Jeter along with Willie Mays and Paul Molitor. Each of the other 4 players - in the Hall of Fame.
This got me thinking about the best hitters in Houston’s history. One that started in 1962 as they joined the New York Mets as expansion teams that season. They began as the Houston Colt .45’s and adopted the Astros moniker 3 years in - to coincide with moving into the Astrodome.
I grew up with the Astros being my closest MLB team and remember listening to them on AM radio many, many nights. And I was fortunate enough to see most of the Astros best historical hitters in person along the way. This list includes Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, Joe Morgan, Lance Berkman, Cesar Cedeno and of course Jose Altuve. Biggio, Bagwell and so far Altuve were career Astros while Morgan made his larger mark in Cincinnati, and Cedeno and Berkman changed uniforms late in their careers.
Comparing this list of Houston greats was really interesting. The comparison is below, but first there are a few qualifiers.
These are career 162 game averages instead of a look at raw numbers. Consider it a bit of a leveler against injury history and other dynamics.
The averages include time with non-Houston teams for Berkman, Cedeno, and Morgan.
Zero effort was made to interpret the impact of whether a player did something against the rules to have an upper hand during their career.
Now the takeaways:
Let’s start with Jose Altuve himself. He just turned 34 so his elite averages are at risk of sliding down a bit. It’s incredibly difficult for ballplayers to maintain this level of production into their mid to late 30’s. Altuve had an injury last year that limited him to only 90 games, otherwise he has been quite durable during his career. And as he has evolved as a hitter he has taken less risks on the base paths likely helping him stay healthy.
Currently Altuve leads the group in 4 categories and is likely to hold the lead in 3 and possible all 4 of them. With an MVP, 3 top 5 MVP finishes and his elite combination of skills he certainly seems like he is on a clear HOF path.
Next up is Jeff Bagwell, a devastating hitter in his time. Bags has the most category leads on this list with 7. He has an MVP, 3 top 5 finishes, and he was elected to the HOF in 2017. Bagwell was the most feared hitter on so many excellent Astro teams in the 1990’s and early 2000’s. And that stance, legs far apart and starting from a squat, his hands were electric and fired at pitches allowing him to crush pitches regardless of location.
It feels like Lance Berkman has often been under appreciated. His career numbers and career 162 game averages likely have not received enough attention - particularly for a switch-hitter. Berkman was a better hitter LH and that’s the way you would draw it up for a for a switch hitter given they are likely to see 3 times as many plate appearances against RHP than LHP. Berkman’s peak was substantial and it started right about when Bagwell’s career wound down. Although Berkman leads no categories in this comparison he did tie with Morgan finishing top 5 in MVP voting 4 times. And a bit surprisingly he is still the all-time leader in slugging percentage among switch-hitters. Beating out the likes of Mickey Mantle, Eddie Murray, and Chipper Jones.
I was in the ballpark when Craig Biggio played his first MLB game. He came up as a catcher at only 22yo and would catch 427 big league games before shifting to 2B for the bulk of his career. Biggio hit in front of Bagwell much of his career and the stats put up were remarkable. Biggio ranks 26th all-time in hits, 16th in runs scored, 13th in plate appearances, 6th in doubles, and 2nd in HBP. And yet Biggio did not lead this group of Houston hitters in a single 162 game average category shown on the chart above. Biggio had a long, extremely productive career that may not have had quite the high ceilings that some of the other players experienced. His 162 WAR average of 3.7 reflects this and is the lowest of the group.
Cesar Cedeno is a name I had to include on this list. If he were playing in today’s game his six year peak between 1972 and 1977 would be absolute fantasy baseball gold. During that window Cedeno averaged 93 runs scored, 20 home runs, 79 RBI, and a whopping 56 stolen bases! And, not surprisingly, he leads this group of hitters with a 162 game average of 44 steals. As good as Cedeno’s career was, including his electric peak, he did not receive a top 5 MVP finish - likely, at least in part, reflecting what voters did and did not focus on during that period.
So Joe Morgan spent less time with Houston than anyone else on this list. And it was before he hit his HOF stride with the Reds in 1972. Still I thought it would be fun to take a look at his numbers alongside the other Houston greats. He leads the group in 2 categories - which are WAR, and MVP’s while also tying with Berkman for top 5 MVP finishes. Morgan’s considered an inner circle HOF’er and what he did during his Big Red Machine days was remarkable. Johnny Bench was always my favorite Red but back then every little leaguer I knew would try to imitate Joe Morgan’s unique pre-swing elbow trigger. It was easily the most recognizable swing for a generation of baseball loving kids.
My larger takeaway’s of the comparison? Jose Altuve certainly belongs on the list and will go down as an elite inner circle Astro. And likely a HOF’er before it’s over. Houston lost out on the Joe Morgan trade about as bad as Boston did on the Jeff Bagwell deal - maybe those two balanced each other out. Neither Lance Berkman or Cesar Cedeno receive the accolades they probably deserve and Craig Biggio was the epitome of a guy that showed up everyday and did something to help his team win.
It will be interesting to look back in 4-5 years, when Altuve is winding down, and see how he stacks up historically at that point. I do hope he stays an Astro for the duration. There’s always been something special about a star player spending his entire career with an organization.
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