CLEVELAND – Phil Garner's rich and renowned legacy with the Astros will be honored forever.
The late Garner, who played for Houston and managed the club to its first World Series appearance in 2005, has been elected to the team's Hall of Fame. Garner died on April 11, but the team said he was aware of his upcoming induction before his passing.
Garner will be honored along with Alan Ashby, a switch-hitting catcher who played 11 seasons with the Astros, and became a longtime broadcaster with the club after retiring as a player.
Garner and Ashby will be enshrined during a ceremony on Aug. 15 before the Astros host the Seattle Mariners. They will become the respective 29th and 30th members of Houston's hall.
Known as “Scrap Iron” for his feisty style of play as an infielder, Garner played seven seasons (1981-87) for Houston after being acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates. He made two postseasons with the club in 1981 and 1986.
Garner, though, had his best run with the Astros as their beloved manager. He took over at the All-Star break in 2004, inheriting a 44-44 team. But the Astros got hot after the break, went 48-26 in their last 74 games and earned a Wild Card berth before losing to St. Louis in a thrilling, seven-game NL Championship Series.
Houston started poorly the following season, but rallied behind Garner and went 74-43 down the stretch to win another Wild Card bid. This time, the Astros finished the job, beating Atlanta and St. Louis to make the World Series against the Chicago White Sox, who won the title.
Garner led the Astros to a 277-252 (.524) mark in the regular season, winning three postseason series and 13 postseason games.
Ashby still ranks first or second in franchise history in several key categories for catchers, including games, home runs, RBIs, hits and runs. He also adeptly handled one of baseball's best pitching staffs in the 1980s and caught three no-hitters.
Ashby was a key contributor on three playoff teams for Houston. In 1981, he hit a game-winning home run to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the NL Division Series — the first postseason homer by a Houston player.
Five years later, he homered to win Game 4 of the NLCS, connecting off Mets left-hander Sid Fernandez. With the shot, Ashby became the first NL player to hit game-winning home runs in the postseason from both sides of the plate.
Ashby spent 13 seasons as one of the team's broadcasters, calling games on radio and television.