Astros announce Hall of Fame Class of 2024
HOUSTON, TX - The Houston Astros announced today that former third baseman Ken Caminiti and former, longtime Spanish radio broadcaster René Cárdenas have been elected into the Astros Hall of Fame presented by Houston Methodist. Caminiti and Cárdenas were elected by the Astros Hall of Fame committee, which consists of former Astros players, current front office staff, current media members and Houston-area baseball historians.
Caminiti and Cárdenas were officially announced as the Class of 2024 during today's Fanfest event at Minute Maid Park.
Caminiti is being inducted posthumously as he passed away in 2004. The two will officially be inducted during a ceremony on Saturday, August 17, prior to the Astros 6:10 p.m. game vs. the Chicago White Sox. Each inductee will receive an Astros Hall of Fame sports coat and customized Hall of Fame plaque. Caminiti will be represented by his family.
The Astros Hall of Fame presented by Houston Methodist was established in 2019, and resides in Hall of Fame Alley on the main concourse of Minute Maid Park in left-center field. The Class of 2024 will join the 26 members previously inducted. Caminiti will become the 22nd player inducted while Cárdenas will be the sixth non-player and fourth broadcaster inducted.
THE 2024 ASTROS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
Ken Caminiti (1987-94, 1999-2000)
During his 10 seasons in an Astros uniform (1987-94, 1999-2000), All-Star Ken Caminiti developed a reputation as one of the finest defensive third basemen of his era. While manning the hot corner, he combined range, soft hands and one of the most explosive throwing arms that the game has ever seen. In his heyday, Caminiti was a human highlight reel of spectacular defensive plays. In addition to his physical talent, to his peers, he was known as the “ultimate gamer” and as a great teammate.
Over a six-year period after securing a starting role with the Astros (1989-1994), Caminiti led all National League third baseman in games (841) and putouts (677) while ranking second in assists (1,545) and total chances (2,332). In franchise history, he ranks second all-time among third basemen in games (1,063), innings (9,043) and assists (1,906) and third in putouts (828).
Offensively, Caminiti was a steady presence in the Astros starting lineup for several years. He ranks third among Astros third basemen in career RBI with 546, which ranks 11th all-time in franchise history. Among Astros switch-hitters, he ranks second all-time only to Lance Berkman in several categories, including home runs, RBI and doubles. Caminiti was also a clutch performer in the postseason for the Astros, hitting .471 (8x17) in the 1999 NLDS vs. Atlanta with three home runs and eight RBI while posting a 1.526 OPS.
In addition to his 10 seasons in Houston, Caminiti also played four seasons with the San Diego Padres (1995-98) and had brief stints with the Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves in 2001. While in San Diego, he excelled, earning NL MVP honors in 1996 (40 HR, 130 RBI). Among NL third basemen in the 1990’s, Caminiti ranked first in total chances and assists and second in home runs and RBI. During his overall career, Caminiti earned three All-Star appearances and three Gold Glove Awards. In 2016, he was inducted into the Padres Hall of Fame.
René Cárdenas (1961-74, 2007-08)
René Cárdenas truly was a broadcasting pioneer for both the Colt .45s/Astros organization and for Major League Baseball. In 1958, he became the first full-time Spanish-language broadcaster to call games for a Major League Baseball team when he joined the Los Angeles Dodgers as their original Spanish radio broadcaster. In 1961, he was hired by the expansion Houston Colt .45s (now the Houston Astros) to pioneer their Spanish radio broadcasts as both their first broadcaster and as director of Spanish broadcasting. He is credited with helping to grow the popularity of the Colt .45s/Astros in the large Hispanic population in Houston in the early years of the franchise. By 1966, Cárdenas had created the first international radio network for baseball in order to help the Astros recruit talent in South America and Central America. That network reached 13 different countries in those regions.
Cárdenas would call Astros games for 14 seasons before returning to Nicaragua in 1975, where he called baseball games on both television and radio. In 1982, he returned to Los Angeles where he would call games for the Dodgers for several more seasons before returning to the Astros Spanish radio broadcast in 2007 and 2008. In 2008, he also called several Astros games in Spanish on television for the first time. After retiring from the broadcast booth, Cárdenas wrote for the Astros Spanish-language website for several years as well as for La Prensa, a Nicaraguan newspaper. Throughout his retirement, he has also made several guest appearances on the Astros Spanish radio broadcasts and has been a mentor for current Astros play-by-play announcer Francisco Romero.
During his illustrious career, Cárdenas also called high-profile events in other sports, including the famous Muhammad Ali-Jimmy Ellis heavyweight boxing match that took place in the Astrodome in 1971.
Cárdenas has been linked to baseball for his entire life. He was born in Managua, Nicaragua and is the grandson of Adan Cárdenas, who introduced baseball to Nicaragua in the late 19th century and served as the President of Nicaragua. His uncle, Adolfo, played on the Nicaraguan national baseball team.
Cárdenas has received several honors in his long career. In 2000, he was inducted into the Nicaragua Baseball Hall of Fame, and in 2002, was inducted into the Broadcasters Wing of the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame. Additionally, Cárdenas has been a finalist three times for the Cooperstown National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting excellence. During his two stints with the Dodgers, Cárdenas teamed with Jaime Jarrin, who went on to earn the Frick Award in 1998. Cardenas is credited with mentoring Jarrin during their early years in Los Angeles.