Houston Astros: Top 30 players in franchise history
By T.A. Mock
19. Joe Morgan, 2B, 1963 – 1971, 1980
Joe Morgan began his hall of fame career in Houston in 1963 and wound up playing 10 years total as a member of the Colt 45s/Houston Astros. The diminutive Morgan had the perfect approach to conquer the cavernous Astrodome.
He hit 63 triples as an Astro and started a nine-year streak of stealing 40+ bases. In total, he stole 219 bases in Houston, 689 in total. If we were examining entire careers instead of just tenures with the Astros, the two time MVP and Hall of Famer would be much higher on this list.
That being said, even though he didn’t win his MVPs in Houston, he still had a tremendously strong run as an Astro. Everything he did in Cincinnati that made him a legend, he was already doing in Houston, albeit on a similar level.
Ultimately, the Astros traded Morgan right before his career took off. It makes one wonder, could he have been as good if he remained an Astro? Or were they and the Astrodome just holding him back? We may never know but Morgan was very good as an Astro but he became truly great after leaving them.