Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither were the Houston Astros, who have five players on the National League All-Star team. The Astros have been under construction for four years and have the ideal mix usually necessary for a pennant.
The Astros, here for a weekend series with the Cubs, appear to be bona fide contenders in the NL Central and are managed by Terry Collins, a former minor-league infielder who sounds like a latter-day Al Lopez.
“I feel like pitching and defense will be the key,” said Collins, the same ingredients of Lopez’s 1959 White Sox, the last Chicago team to reach the World Series.
But the Astros also have a bona fide power hitter in Jeff Bagwell, who leads the majors in runs batted in with 80 and is second in the NL in home runs and third in batting.
Bagwell, 26, is in his fourth full big-league season and typical of the Houston club. He has been constantly improving, both in the field and at the plate and could win the batting triple crown, possibly this season.
He already has 26 home runs, six more than last season. “I thought I could hit 26 in the big leagues,” Bagwell said, “but not 26 in one half.”
Most hitters, when they first come up, are pull hitters but with time learn to hit to the opposite field. The right-handed-hitting Bagwell has taken the opposite route. Originally a line-drive hitter who used the entire field, he has developed into a pull hitter. Only three of his home runs have been to right field.
“I’m not a flashy guy like Ken Griffey, who broke in at 19 and from the get-go was a superstar,” Bagwell observed. “It’s taken me a while.”
Bagwell has a typical big-league history:
“The first year, you kind of break in. You don’t really know what’s going on. The second year, the pitchers know how to pitch to you and you have to adjust. The third year, you find out if you really belong. Now I know the pitchers and how they’re trying to get me out.”
The same can be said for several of the other budding Houston stars. This is also the fourth big-league season for left-fielder Luis Gonzalez and the fifth for center-fielder Steve Finley. Ken Caminiti, the Astros’ brilliant third baseman, has been up to stay since 1989, but only recently has established himself as an outstanding all-around performer.
“Age-wise, we have a young team,” explained manager Collins. “But it’s not a young team in experience.”
Like his front-line players, Collins has paid his dues. This is his 23rd season in professional baseball. A light-hitting middle infielder out of Midland, Mich., Collins had an undistinguished playing career and never played higher than Triple A.
He has been a big-league coach for the last four seasons, and before that managed minor-league clubs in the Los Angeles and Pittsburgh organizations.
He succeeded Art Howe as the Houston pilot last November and was selected for the post by General Manager Bob Watson for “his feel of the game.” Said Watson: “He’s a natural manager. He understands what the game is all about.”
Collins emphasizes not only fundamentals but also the necessity for playing hard, not merely in the early and middle innings but from the seventh inning on, what Eddie Stanky used to call “the business innings.”
“We play the complete game, nine innings, 27 outs,” Collins said. He is constantly reminding his players: “Don’t ever stop. You never know what’s going to happen in the late innings.”
Defensively, the Astros’ infield of Bagwell at first, Craig Biggio at second, Andujar Cedeno at short and Caminiti at third is among the best in the league. Only the San Francisco Giants may have a better infield.
Houston’s outfield is also first-rate with Gonzalez, Finley and right-fielder Kevin Bass. Defense is also the strong suit of the Houston catchers, Scott Servais and Tony Eusebio.
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The Astros have a reliable pitching rotation of Doug Drabek, Darryl Kile, Greg Swindell, Pete Harnisch and Brian Williams and in John Hudek, a right-handed power pitcher, the NL’s new star closer. Hudek, 28 next month, has succeeded in 14 of his 15 save opportunities and was originally signed by Larry Himes when Himes was with the White Sox.
“I’m happy for him,” Himes said Friday at Wrigley Field. “He had to work hard. It took him a while.”
The same can be said for the entire Houston team. The Astros weren’t born yesterday.