He and his wife, Patty, make their offseason home in Houston with their three children: sons Conor Joseph (January 7, 1993) and Cavan Thomas (April 11, 1995), and daughter Quinn Patricia (September 27, 1999)...named first team All-America after hitting .407 with 14 homers and 68 RBI as a junior at Seton Hall in 1987...graduated from Kings Park High School...was the 22nd player selected in the June 1987 draft...toured Japan as part of a Major League Baseball All-Star team in October and November, 1992...actively involved with The Sunshine Kids, a support organization for children with cancer and their families...Houston's 1991 nominee for the Bart Giamatti Caring Award, given annually to a Major League player to recognize his community involvement...winner of the 1997 Branch Rickey Award for community service...in 1999, he was selected by a panel of experts as the franchise's second baseman on the All-Astrodome team...named one of The Sporting News' Good Guys in 2004 for his charitable efforts...inducted into the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame on Nov. 12, 2004 and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame on Feb. 9, 2005.
2006
In his 19th season with the Houston franchise, Craig hit .246 (135x548) with 21 home runs, 62 RBI, and 33 doubles in 145 games played for the Astros...now ranks 25th all-time in games (2,709), 16th in at-bats (10,359), 17th in runs scored (1,776)...has played in more games, all with the same team, than any other active player...made his franchise-record, 18th consecutive Opening Day start...collected 135 hits on the season and now has 2,930 during his career, tied with Jake Beckley and Rogers Hornsby for 31st on the MLB career list...recorded his 2,900th career hit on 8/5 at ARI with a 1st-inning single...hit .297 (33x111) vs. left-handed pitchers and .233 (102x437) vs. right-handed pitchers...hit .298 (93x312) with 15 home runs in 79 home games and .178 (42x236) with six home runs in 66 road games...hit .304 (28x92) in April and .280 (88x314) before the All-Star Break...hit 13 of his 21 home runs after the break...1x4 with his 21st HR of the season on 9/29 at ATL (James)...home run on 9/29 also set the franchise record for career extra-base hits with 970...Jeff Bagwell held the old record with 969...now ranks 30th on the MLB career list...the HR on 9/29 was also the 281st career home run of his career, one away from Ryne Sandberg (282) for 3rd all-time among players who played primarily 2B...recorded his eighth 20-HR seasons, the second-most all-time among players who played primarily second base (Jeff Kent, 11)...was also his third consecutive season with 20 or more home runs...has scored 161 career runs vs. STL, second-most of any player vs. the Cardinals since 1962...scored the winning run in the 15th on 9/27 at PIT...3x5 with a walk-off single on 9/22 vs. STL, his 16th career walkoff hit and his first since 4/2/03, and the first walk-off hit for the Astros this season...hit career double No. 637 on 9/22 vs. STL and ranks 9th on the MLB career doubles list (next target: H. Wagner, 640)...holds the modern MLB record with 282 times hit by a pitch (set record on 6/29/05 at COL--#268)...was hit by a pitch nine times in 2006, ending a streak of 11 consecutive seasons from 1995-2005 with 10-plus times hit by a pitch...stole third base on 9/22 vs. STL, his 105th career steal of third, 2nd among active players (Kenny Lofton, 112)...played his 2,700th career game on 9/21 vs. STL, the 27th player and eighth NL player to reach that plateu...1x4 with his 20th HR on 9/20 vs. CIN...went 1x4 on 9/17 vs. PHI with a home run, snapping a 0x30 streak, the longest hitless streak of his career...hit in the No.6 slot in the lineup on 8/22, the first time he has hit lower than 3rd in the lineup since 9/20/90 vs. Cincinnati (started at catcher and hit 6th), snapping a streak of 2,276 starts...homered twice on 8/2 at SD, his first multi-homer game of the season and his 16th career...hit his 50th career leadoff home run and his 6th leadoff HR of 2006 on 7/26 vs. CIN...50 is the NL record and ranks 2nd all-time (Rickey Henderson)...was two shy of his career-high eight leadoff HR in 2001...fourth all-time among MLB infielders in doubles and ranks tied for third all-time in hits among players who spent their careers primarily as a 2B...recorded his 1,100th career RBI on 7/26 vs. CIN...2006 was his 13th season with 30 or more doubles...collected his 2,800th career hit with a first-inning single on 4/8 vs. WSH...hit career double No. 625 on 6/4 vs. CIN, moving past Hank Aaron (624 career doubles) and into sole possession of 9th all-time...drove in seven runs in a six-game stretch from 4/17-25, collecting three or more hits in five of those games...tied for second all-time among NL players (with Bobby Abreu) in hits during Interleague play with 180 (Piazza, 183)...became the 23rd player all-time to reach 10,000 at-bats in the 7th inning on 5/29 vs. STL...walked a career-high five times on 5/27 vs. PIT, one shy of the club record... 4x4 on 4/23 and drew his 1,100th career walk...recipient of the 2006 Hutch Award, given annually by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle...presented to the MLB player who "best exemplifies Hutch's fighting spirit and competitive desire."
2005
hit .264 (156x590) witha career-high 26 home runs and 69 RBI...hit 40 doubles and scored 94 runs..stole 11 bases...homered
three times in his last eight games...recorded his seventh 20-homer season.
became the only player in Major League history to reach ALL of the following milestones: 600 doubles, 250 HR, 2,700 hits,
and 400 stolen bases by hitting his 600th career doubles on 9/10 at MIL...recorded his 400 career stolen base on 5/2 vs. PIT.
signed to a one-year contract extension through the 2006 season on 10/2, the final day of the 2005 regular season.
recorded the 10th season all-time of 25 or more homers and 40 or more doubles by a second baseman...was only the fifth
season by a second baseman of 25+HR, 40+doubles, and 10+steals...ranked tied for ninth in the NL with 41 doubles.
hit 40 or more doubles for the seventh time in his career and the third consecutive season...hit his 604th career doble on
10/2 vs. CHI, moving past Cal Ripken, Jr. and Paul Waner and into sole possession of 11th place on the MLB career list.
ranks 43rd all-time with 2,795 hits...next target is George Sisler (2,812)...ranks 37th with 2,564 games played, 27th with
9,811 at-bats, 23rd with 1,697 runs scored, 63rd with 1,097 walks, and tied for 45th with 915 extra-base htis.
hit his 26th HR of the year and his 44th career leadoff home run on 10/1 vs. CHI...tied Brady Anderson for 2nd all-time in
career leadoff HR (Rickey Henderson ranks 1st with 80)...hit three leadoff homers in 2005...finished one home run shy of
Jeff Kent's franchise record for HR by a second baseman in a season (27 in 2004).
set a career-high with his 25th home run on 9/27 at STL...homered three times in his last eight games.
ranks 5th all-time in home runs among players who played primarily 2B with 260.
hit his 20th home run of the season on 9/7 at PHI (Billy Wagner), a three-run homer with two outs in the 9th inning that
gave Houston an 8-6 lead that ended up as the final score.
recorded his second multi-homer game of the season on 7/25 vs. PHI (Lidle)...both were part of back-to-back home runs
with Lance Berkman.
hit his 17th home run on 7/29 vs. NYM in his 100th game, marking just the second time in his career he had as many
homers through 100 games (18 in 1995)...hit his 250th career home run on 7/26 vs. PHI.
hit .386 (27x70) with five homers, six doubles, and 13 RBI in an 18-game stretch from 6/20-7/9.
recorded his 2,700th career hit on 6/13 at BAL, becoming the first Astro and the 57th player all-time to reach that milestone.
holds the modern MLB record with 273 times hit by a pitch...set the record with No. 268 hit by pitch on 6/29 at COL
(Kim)...homered, was hit by a pitch, and stole a base for the second time in his career on 6/29 at COL (also 7/18/01 vs.
STL)...has homered and been hit by a pitch 17 times in his career (Houston is 12-5 in those 17 games).
ranks tied for fourth in the NL in HBP this season with 17.
hit two home runs on 5/12 vs. SF for his first multi-homer game of the year...was also his 42nd career leadoff home
run...homered in three of four games from 5/14-18 and homered four times in six games from 5/12-18...homered three
times in the four-game series vs. SF from 5/12-15.
0x1 as a pinch-hitter on 8/28 at LA...ejected (Eddings) for the second time in his career.
hit safely in the first nine games of the season (.389, 14x36) with six doubles.
one of the six players all-time with 104 career steals of third base.
teams with Jeff Bagwell to form the active MLB leaders in teammate tenure (15 years).
2004
Hit a career-high 24 home runs in 156 games...started 82 games in left field, 66 games in center field, and one as DH...led the Astros in at-bats (633), hits (178), doubles (47), hit by pitch (15), and tied for the lead in runs (104)...ranked tied for fourth in the National League with 47 doubles, his highest total since 56 in 1999...47 doubles ranks fifth on the Major League single-season list...ranks 17th all-time with 564 career doubles...finished second among leadoff hitters with 24 home runs...hit safely in 112 of his 156 games in 2004...tied for sixth in National League with 56 multi-hit games...ranks fourth among active players with 739 career multi-hit games...ranks among the all-time MLB leaders in hits (66th, 2,639), runs (39th, 1,603) and walks (78th, 1,060)...leads MLB in hits since 1994 with 1,839...is the franchise career leader in games (2,409), hits (2,639), runs (1,603), at-bats (9,221), singles (1,790), and doubles (564)...ranks second in RBI (994)...sits six RBI from 1,000 for his career...hit seven leadoff home runs, tied for sixth all-time in NL history...is the NL career leader with 41 leadoff home runs and ranks third all-time...has 396 career steals, four away from becoming the fourth player in MLB history to reach all of the following milestones: 400 steals, 225 home runs, 500 doubles, 1,500 runs, 1,000 walks, and 2,500 hits (others: Rickey Henderson, Barry Bonds, Paul Molitor)...batted .400 (8x20) with one home run and four RBI during the NLDS vs. Atlanta...hit his first career postseason home run in Game 4 of the NLDS vs. Atlanta (Ortiz) and went 3x4 in his first career multi-hit game in postseason play...hit a leadoff home run in Game 7 of the NLCS vs. St. Louis...hit his 23rd and 24th home runs of the season Oct. 2 vs. Colorado...previous career high for homers in a season was 22 in 1995 and 1997...two homers tied a career high for the third time this season and 13th time in his career...collected his 47th double of the season on Oct. 1 vs. Colorado...his streak of four consecutive seasons with 35 or more doubles is tied with Lance Berkman for a club record...recorded his 1600th career run on Sept. 29 vs. St. Louis...posted a 14-game hit streak from Aug. 30-Sept. 14 -- his 15th career streak of 10-plus games...recorded career hit 2,600 on Aug. 23 vs. Philadelphia, the first Astro to reach the mark...collected his 2,500th hit with a first-inning single on May 8 at Atlanta (Ramirez)...hit his first career pinch-hit home run on Aug. 22 vs. the Chicago Cubs (Leicester)...hit by a pitch for the 15th time on the season on Aug. 17 at Philadelphia...finished tied for fifth in the NL in HBP...ranks second all-time (first in NL history) with 256 HBP, 11 away from Don Baylor (267)...played in his 2,300th career game on May 30 vs. St. Louis...played more games than any active player who has spent his entire career with one team...homered three times in nine at-bats from May 8-11...hit .328 (22x67) with five home runs, eight RBI, and 13 runs scored in 17 games from April 23-May 12...collected his 2,500th hit with a first-inning single on May 8 at Atlanta (Ramirez)...is the first Astro and the 80th player in MLB history to reach that plateau...hit .378 during an 11-game hitting streak from April 28-May 8...was his 14th career streak of 10 games or more...made his franchise-record 16th consecutive Opening Day start for the Astros (1989-present), one in left field (2004), one in center field (2003), three at catcher (1989-91) and 11 at second base (1992-2002)...teams with Jeff Bagwell to form the active professional sports leaders in teammate tenure (14 seasons).
2002
Completed his 15th season, breaking the franchise record previously held by Terry Puhl and Bob Watson...appeared in his 14th Opening Day (1998-present) with the Astros, the longest stretch in franchise history.
- tied for second in the National League with 17 hit by pitch in 2002, making him Major League Baseball's active career leader with 214 HPB.
- started in left field on Sept. 23 vs. Milwaukee for the first time since Sept. 18, 1999 at St. Louis.
- scored his 1,400th run on Sept. 22 at St. Louis in the first inning.
- hit safely in 18 of 24 games in July (.330; 31x94)...illness forced him to miss games from July 11-12...rOeturned on July 13 and went 3x4.
- hit .400 (12x30) during a seven-game hitting streak (6/29-7/6).
- his season-high 10-game streak from June 9-19 (.390, 16x41) was his 13th career streak of 10 or more games.
- led the team with 16 games of three or more hits...went 4x5 with three runs scored on June 14 vs. Texas.
- played in his 2,000th game on May 28...no player who had his Major League debut since 1983 had played in 2,000 games for his first team (Barry Larkin had 1,999).
- had a season-high tying four RBI on May 26 vs. the Cubs.
- hit his 30th career leadoff home run on May 2 vs. Montreal, tying Bobby Bonds (30NL/5AL) for first on the all-time NL career list and Tony Phillips for sixth on the Major League list.
- became the fifth player in club history to hit for the cycle on April 8 at Colorado, joining Cesar Cedeno (1972, 1976), Bob Watson (1977), Andujar Cedeno (1992) and Jeff Bagwell (2001).
2001
Finished among the league leaders in runs (t8th, 118), batting with runners
in scoring position (1st, .388), and at bats (9th, 617)...the club's career leader
in games played (1,955).
- hit a third-inning, infield single off Javier Vazquez for his 2000th
career hit on May 4 at Montreal...became first Astro and 216th MLB player
with 2000 hits.
- has been in the Astros' Opening Day starting lineup for 13 consecutive
years, the past 10 at second base.
- MLB's active HBP leader (197)...topped the Majors with 28 HBPs this
season...had three hitting streaks of 11 games or longer (18, 12, 11).
- moved into third place on the franchise home run list (180)...passed
Glenn Davis on June 9 with his 167th career HR.
- third-inning run on September 6 vs. MIL was the 1,288th of his career,
passing Heinie Manush (1,287, 1923-39) for #100 on the MLB all-time runs
scored list.
- first Astro to hit leadoff home runs in three consecutive starts (August 11
at FLA, August 13-14 vs. Cubs)...led Majors with eight leadoff homers (also:
May 30 at SD, June 17 vs. TEX , June 21-22 vs. CIN, June 30 at MIL)...29
career leadoff homers is one short of the NL record set by Bobby Bonds (30,
1968-74, 80-81).
- his walk-off home run in the 10th inning on July 31 vs. NYM was the third
of his career, the 29th in franchise history, and the team's third this season.
- sixth-inning RBI on July 17 vs. Cleveland was the 783rd of his career to
pass Bob Watson (782, 1966-79) for third place on the Astros all-time RBI
list.
- became the franchise leader in games played with 1,871 on June 25 at
Arizona, passing Astros first-base coach Jose Cruz (1,870, 1975-87).
- put together a career-high 18-game hit streak (May 29-June 18)...fourth
Astro and first since Terry Puhl (1978-79) with streaks of 16 or more games
in consecutive years.
- hit two singles at Chicago on May 16 to join Jeff Bagwell as the only
Astros with 3,000 total bases...reached mark with an eighth-inning single
(Tavarez).
- had a career-high five hits (5x5, all singles) on Opening Day on April 3
vs. Milwaukee, tying the Astros record for most hits and singles in a game.
- played his 14th season as an Astro, tying Bob Watson (1966-79) and
Terry Puhl (1977-90) for most seasons in Houston history...made 13th
consecutive Opening Day start (1989-present), the longest consecutive
streak in Astros history.
2000
Landed on the disabled list for the first time in his 13-year, 1800-game
career after suffering from both a torn anterior cruciate ligament and medial
collateral ligament in early August ... Has been in the Astros' Opening Day
starting lineup for 12 consecutive years, the past nine at second base ...
Became the franchise career leader with 6,630 at-bats on June 16 at San
Francisco, surpassing Jose Cruz (6,629) ... broke Cruz's total base record
with a single on May 24 vs. Philadelphia ... Further entrenched his name into
the Astros' record book in 2000.became Houston's all-time hit leader,
surpassing Cruz (1,937) with a single on June 26 at Arizona for his 1,938
career base hit ... Began the season with a career-best, 16-game hitting
streak from April 5-26, .313 (20x64) ... Hit his first home run of the year on
April 10 vs. St. Louis (Hentgen) ... Had batted leadoff in 497 consecutive
starts prior to batting second on May 8 vs. Colorado ... previously batted
second on September 29, 1996 ... Drove in a season-high four runs on May
9 versus Colorado, including a bases-loaded triple in the sixth inning in a
13-8, come-from-behind win ... After a homerless drought that lasted nearly
two months, he hit two homers in three games, June 8 at Los Angeles and
June 10 at San Diego ... Hit .309 (29x94) with 16 runs scored, four home
runs and 12 RBI in July ... The all-time franchise doubles leader collected his
400th career-two bagger on July 19 vs. Cincinnati ... Hit his eighth home run
one day before suffering his injury, slamming a solo shot (Burnett) at Florida
on July 31 ... Suffered both injuries to the ACL and MCL while attempting to
turn a double play at second base on August 1 at Florida ... Underwent
surgery on August 10 in Houston ... reconstructive surgery (Dr. David
Lintner) was performed to reconstruct the ACL ... the MCL was allowed to
heal without the need for surgical repair.
1999
Became only the sixth player in major league history to have back-to-back
seasons with 50-or-more doubles in 1999, breaking his own club record with
56 two-baggers ... Is the first player in the majors to tally as many as 56
doubles since George Kell did so for the Tigers in 1950 ... is the first National
League player since Joe Medwick slapped 56 for the Cardinals in 1937 ...
Played in 160-or-more games in four consecutive seasons, including 160 in
1999 ... was hit by a pitch on 11 occasions, upping his major league-leading
total to 153 ... Started the campaign slowly, going 0x13 in his first four games
... hit .342 (26x76) the rest of April to lift his average to .292 ... Scored his
1000th career run on 4/11 vs. Milwaukee ... Hit his 344th career double on 5/
4 at Florida, passing Cesar Cedeno (343, 1970-81) for the franchise record
... Hit a career-high three doubles (3x5) in a 10-4 win vs. the Braves on 6/14
... Did not play on 6/26 against Cincinnati, which marked only the third game
he had missed in the past four seasons ... played in every game in 1996 and
1997 and missed only two games in 1998 ... had previously not played in a
game on 9/22/98 at St. Louis in game 158 ... Batted .439 (43x98) from 7/6-
31, hitting safely in 22 of 23 games ... Had a career-high tying four hits (4x5)
with two doubles, a home run and two RBI on 7/7 at Arizona ... Knocked in
the winning run with a base hit on 7/17 vs. Detroit in the bottom of the ninth
inning in a 2-1, last at-bat win for the Astros ... Hit his 52nd double of the year
on 8/29 vs. the Marlins, breaking his own franchise record (51) which he set
in 1998 ... one of only six players in major league history to have 50 doubles
in back-to-back seasons ... doubled in five consecutive games from 7/26-7/
30 ... Cracked a leadoff home run on 8/29 vs. Florida ... it was his 21st career
home run in Houston's first at-bat of the game and his fourth this year ... was
4x5 in that contest, tying his career-high for hits in a game (23rd time) ...
Scored 505 runs from 1995-98, the most of any major leaguer over that
period ... is one of only 16 players since 1900 to have scored 500-or-more
runs over any four-year period ... Batted .417 (48x115) in July with 14
doubles and 14 RBI ... His 13-game hitting streak (.439; 25x57) from 7/6-21
was one game shy of his career best in 1997 ... had seven multiple-hit
games during the stretch ... Drilled the 150th home run of his career and his
14th of the season (a solo shot off Trachsel) in a 7-1 win versus Chicago on
9/12 ... Scored a run in 10 consecutive games from 9/11-21 ... Recorded the
700th RBI of his career by knocking in Mike Hampton with his 54th double
on 9/1 vs. Philadelphia ... Hit a solo home run off Park (16th homer of the
season) to break a scoreless sixth-inning tie with the Dodgers in a 3-0 victory
on 10/2 ... Hit safely in 18 of his final 23 regular-season games (.267; 23x86)
... Cracked his 56th double on 10/3 in the regular-season finale against Los
Angeles.
1998
Putting his blend of power and speed on display, he joined Hall of Famer
Tris Speaker as the only players this century to collect 50-or-more doubles
and 50-or-more stolen bases in the same season ... Speaker had 53 doubles
and 52 steals for the Boston Red Sox in 1912 while Biggio finished 1998
with a club record 51 doubles and a career-best 50 stolen bases ... finished
fifth in the National League MVP voting, two spots behind teammate Moises
Alou.
1997
Led the major leagues and set a club single-season record by scoring 146
runs, the most in a single-season in the NL since Chuck Klein scored 152
runs for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1932 ... his runs total was the highest in
the majors since Rickey Henderson scored 146 for the New York Yankees in
1985 ... the last time the AL had a total higher than 146 was when Boston's
Ted Williams scored 150 times in 1949 ... became only the third player in
major league history to go through an entire season (minimum 150 games)
without grounding into a double play (162 games/619 at-bats) ... the feat had
only been accomplished previously in the NL by Chicago's Augie Galan in
1935 (154 games) and in the AL by Detroit's Dick McAuliffe in 1968 (151
games) ... was voted the club's Most Valuable Player by the Houston
Chapter of the BBWAA for the second time in his career (also 1995) ... he
finished fourth in the BBWAA's voting for the league MVP honor behind only
winner Larry Walker, runner-up Mike Piazza and teammate Jeff Bagwell ...
for the third straight year, fans selected him the NL's starting second
baseman in the All-Star Game (1,161,610 votes) ... it made him the first
Houston player ever to start the game three times ... his visit to the Mid-
Summer Classic in Cleveland was the sixth All-Star appearance of his
career (also 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995 and 1996), the most ever by a Houston
player ... earned his fourth consecutive Rawlings Gold Glove Award as the
best defensive player at his position ... only Doug Rader (1970-74) and
Cesar Cedeno (1972-76) with five apiece have won more with the Astros ...
won The Sporting News Silver Slugger Award as the best offensive player at
his position ... it marked the fourth time in his career he claimed the honor
and third time at second base (also 1989 at catcher; 1994-95) ... winner of
the prestigious Branch Rickey Award for Community Service, presented
annually by the Rotary Club of Denver and Major League Baseball Players
Alumni to the player, manager or executive who unselfishly contributes to his
community ... finished the season ranked among NL leaders in games (T1-
162), batting average (10th-.309), at-bats (6th-619), runs (1st-146), hits (T4-
191), triples (T6-8), total bases (9th-310), walks (9th-84), on-base
percentage (6th-.415), stolen bases (4th-47), multi-hit games (4th-57) and hit
by pitch (1st-34) ... his hit by pitch total was a club single-season record,
breaking his own mark of 27 in 1996 ... established career single-season
bests for at-bats, runs, hits, triples, RBI (81) and stolen bases ... he matched
his career season bests for games and home runs (22). He subsequently
bettered those numbers in at-bats, hits, doubles, steals and RBI ... his hits
total (191) was the second-highest in club history to Enos Cabell's record
195 in 1978 ... he now ranks third on the club's all-time list for hits with 1,470,
trailing only Jose Cruz (1,937) and Cesar Cedeno (1,659) ... batted .300-or-
higher in every month of the season, except August (.265) ... had a career-
best, 14-game hitting streak from May 18-June 2 over which he batted .356
(21x59) ... matched his single-game high with four hits on May 26 at San
Francisco and July 10 at Pittsburgh ... had a pair of two home run games on
April 20 at Los Angeles and May 16 at Philadelphia ... tied a club single-
game record by walking four times on July 14 at Chicago (11th time) ... his
47 stolen bases were the most by an Astro since Eric Yelding swiped 64 in
1990 ... batted .083 (1x12) and had one walk in three games against Atlanta
in the NL Division Series.
1996
Voted the NL's starting second baseman in the All-Star Game for the second
consecutive season, and named Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner at
second base for his third straight year ... his Gold Glove honor came after
committing only 10 errors in 811 total chances for a .988 fielding percentage
... finished ranked among NL leaders in runs (T10-113), hit by pitch (1st-27),
sacrifice hits (T8-8) and hardest to fan (T9-10.0 PA per strikeout) ... he also
tied for the NL lead in games played with teammate Jeff Bagwell at 162 ... it
marked the second time in his career he played in every game in a season
(also 1992) ... tied his career-high with four hits in a game twice, including
May 28 at Pittsburgh and August 11 at Philadelphia ... he now has 14 career
four-hit games ... tied his own club record by scoring five runs in a game on
June 4 against Colorado (3rd time) ... hit two home runs in a game for the
fifth time in his career on June 15 at San Francisco.
1995
Was the National League's starting second baseman in the All-Star Game,
becoming the first Astro elected as a starter since Cesar Cedeno in 1973 ...
earned his second consecutive Sporting News Silver Slugger Award as the
best offensive player at his position and second straight Rawlings Gold
Glove award as the league's top defensive second baseman ... finished 10th
in balloting for the NL MVP award with 58 points ... led the National League
with 123 runs scored, which established a club single season record held
previously by Jimmy Wynn with 117 in 1972 ... also ranked among NL
leaders in hits (T4-167), walks (T3-80), hit by pitch (1st-22), on-base
percentage (2nd-.406), multi-hit games (T3-53) and stolen bases (8th-33) ...
his hit by pitch total also set a club record for a single season ... his .302
batting average ranked 14th in the NL and marked the second straight year
he hit .300-or-above ... became Houston's first "20-20" player since Kevin
Bass in 1986 when he slugged his 20th homer on September 15 at
Montreal. ... his 22 home runs set a club single season record for a second
baseman, topping the 21 he belted in 1993 ... shattered the franchise record
for runs in a month when he scored 34 in July, breaking Bagwell's mark of 30
in July of 1994 ... scored one-or-more runs in 10 consecutive games from
July 13-23, one shy of matching Jimmy Wynn's club record 11 games from
June 12-23, 1972 ... established a new club mark by scoring five times on
July 4 at Colorado, then matched it by scoring five times on September 29 at
Chicago ... became the ninth player to record 1,000 hits as an Astro with a
seventh-inning single on July 1 vs. Pittsburgh's Mike Dyer ... tied a club
single-game record with four stolen bases on September 16 at Montreal ...
earned All-Star recognition for the fourth time in his career ... hit a solo homer
in the July 11 game at The Ballpark in Arlington that broke up a no-hit effort
by the American League which had lasted the first 5.2 innings of the contest
(an All-Star Game record).
1994
Was selected to the National League All-Star team for the third time in four
years ... led the league with a career-high 39 stolen bases, swiping 21
consecutive without being caught from April 29-June 29 ... was not caught in
his final 10 attempts and finished with a 90.7% stolen base success ratio
(39x43) ... stole third base 12 times without being caught ... tied for the NL
lead with 44 doubles, tying the franchise single-season mark at the time ...
earned his first Rawlings Gold Glove Award and was second among
National League second basemen with a .988 fielding percentage ... with
teammate Jeff Bagwell also honored, it was the first time since 1974 that two
Astros had won Gold Gloves (Doug Rader and Cesar Cedeno) ... led all
National League second basemen with 338 assists and 225 putouts ... did
not commit an error in his final 22 games ... also ranked among leaders in
runs (5th-88), hits (7th-139), extra-base hits (8th-55), walks (7th-62), on-base
percentage (T6-.411) and multi-hit games (T5-41) ... named to The Sporting
News Silver Slugger team and was ranked as the top second baseman in
the National League by the Elias Sports Bureau in their annual player
statistical evaluations.
1993
Ranked among NL leaders in at-bats (T6-610), hits (T10-175), doubles (T4-
41), total bases (10th-289), extra-base hits (T7-67) and hit by pitch (T3-10) ...
led the club in games (155), at-bats, runs (98), hits, doubles, home runs (21),
total bases and walks (77) ... established career-highs at the time in runs,
hits, doubles, homers, RBI (64) and total bases ... set a club record for home
runs by a second baseman (which he bettered in 1995) ... the previous best
was 16 by Bill Doran in 1987 ... also hit the most home runs ever by a
Houston middle infielder, and became the first Houston middle infielder to
lead the team in homers since shortstop Dickie Thon led the club with 20 in
1983 ... Became the first player in major league history to make the All-Star
team at both catcher (1991) and second base (1992).
1992
ranked among National League leaders in runs (7th-96) walks (4th-94) and
stolen bases (10th-38) ... also ranked among the league's top 10 in at-bats
(6th-613) and hit by pitch (T8-7), and was the fourth-hardest player in the
league to double up, having grounded into double plays just five times in
613 at bats (122.6 AB/GIDP) ... joined teammates Jeff Bagwell and Steve
Finley as the only players in the NL to play in all 162 games, a feat matched
in the majors only by Baltimore's Cal Ripken, Jr ... reached career-highs in
games, at-bats, runs, hits (170), doubles (32), walks and stolen bases.
1991
Became the first Astros' catcher ever named to the All-Star team, and led the
club in batting for the second straight season with a .295 average ... ranked
12th in the league in batting ... opened the season with a 10-game hitting
streak (.475; 19x40), his longest of the season ... batted a season-best .359
in April and did not hit under .270 in a month all year ... batted .311 in May
and .309 in June ... went to the All-Star Game in Toronto with a .315 average
... was hitless in one at-bat in his first All-Star appearance ... was charged
with an error after committing the first catcher's interference ever in an All-
Star Game with Milwaukee's Paul Molitor batting ... was the hardest player in
the majors to double up, grounding into only two double plays, an average of
one per every 273 at-bats.
1990
Became the first Astros catcher ever to lead the team in batting when he hit
.276 ... also led the team in at-bats (555), hits (153) and doubles (24), while
stealing a career-high 25 bases ... NL Player of the Week the first week of the
season (April 9-15) after hitting .400 (12x30), which included hits in six
consecutive plate appearances on the 14th and 15th.
1989
His first full season in the majors saw him begin to establish himself as one
of the top offensive players in the game ... winner of The Sporting News'
Silver Slugger award as the top offensive player at his position in the league
... led all major league catchers with 21 stolen bases, and finished second
among NL receivers in home runs (13) and RBI (60) ... named to the post-
season NL All-Star team by UPI ... became Houston's everyday catcher on
May 11 when Alan Ashby was placed on waivers ... hit in a career-best 12
straight games from May 26-June 9 (.391; 18x46), with seven doubles, two
homers and 12 RBI ... NL Player of the Week from July 24-30 (.476; 10x21) ...
established single-game bests with two home runs and six RBI on
September 14 at Los Angeles, including his first career grand slam off John
Wetteland.
1988
Became the first non-pitcher of the 1987 draft class to reach the majors when
his contract was purchased by the Astros on June 26 ... his first hit came on
June 29 off Cy Young award winner Orel Hershiser ... first homer was a
game-winner on August 22 at Chicago off Goose Gossage.
