HOUSTON, TX - The Houston Astros announced today the six members of the Astros Hall of Fame Class of 2020: Lance Berkman, César Cedeño,Roy Hofheinz, Roy Oswalt, Billy Wagner and Bob Watson. Today's announcement was made at a press conference at 2020 Astros Fanfest on the field at Minute Maid Park.
The six members of the class of 2020 will be inducted into the Astros Hall of Fame presented by Houston Methodist in a ceremony on August 8, prior to Houston's 6:10 p.m. game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Each inductee will receive an Astros Hall of Fame sports coat and custom Hall of Fame plaque.
The Astros Hall of Fame presented by Houston Methodist was created in 2019, and resides in Hall of Fame Alley on the main concourse of Minute Maid Park in left-center field. The class of 2020 will join the 16 members of the inaugural Astros Hall of Fame class of 2019, which featured the nine Astros with retired numbers as well as the members of the Astros Walk of Fame on Texas Ave: Bob Aspromonte, Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Jose Cruz, Larry Dierker, Gene Elston, Milo Hamilton, Joe Morgan, Joe Niekro, Shane Reynolds, J.R. Richard, Nolan Ryan, Mike Scott, Jim Umbricht, Don Wilson and Jimmy Wynn.
The 2020 Astros Hall of Fame class marks the first class that was voted on by the Astros Hall of Fame Committee, which is comprised of 11 individuals: Astros Manager of Authentication and Team Historian Mike Acosta, Astros Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, legendary Astros broadcaster Bill Brown, Astros Hall of Famer Larry Dierker, President of the Houston / Larry Dierker Chapter of SABR Bob Dorrill, Executive Advisor Reid Ryan,VP of Communications Gene Dias, MLB.com National Correspondent Alyson Footer, VP of Foundation Development Marian Harper, MLB.com Astros Beat Writer Brian McTaggart and baseball and Houston historian Mike Vance.
THE 2020 ASTROS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES (note: the text below is not what will be featured on the HOF plaques)
Lance Berkman (1999-2010)
One of the greatest pure hitters in baseball over his 15-year Major League career, Lance Berkman was a five-time All-Star in 12 seasons with Houston, including four seasons in which he finished in the top-five of the National League MVP voting. A first-round pick by the Astros out of Rice University in 1997, Berkman went on to become the Astros all-time leader in career on-base percentage (.410) slugging percentage (.549) and OPS (.959). Berkman, affably known as "Big Puma" during his time in Houston, helped lead the Astros to three playoff appearances, including the club's first appearance in the World Series in 2005. A five-time Astros MVP, Berkman owns the single-season club records for RBI (136 in 2006) and extra-base hits (94 in 2001). He finished his playing career with stints with the Yankees, Cardinals and Rangers, capturing a World Series Championship with the Cardinals in 2011. His career .943 OPS is the second-best in Major League history by a switch-hitter, behind only Hall of Fame outfielder Mickey Mantle (.977).
Cesar Cedeno (1970-81)
After bursting into the Major Leagues with a fourth-place finish in the 1970 NL Rookie of the Year voting as a 19-year-old, César Cedeño quickly became one of the top outfielders in baseball and one of the best young players in Major League history. The ultimate five-tool player, Cedeño hit .285 with 199 homers, 436 doubles, 60 triples and 550 stolen bases across his 17-year Major League career, with 12 of his years spent in Houston. In 1972 at age 21, he began a stretch in which he received five consecutive Gold Glove awards (1972-76) while being named to four National League All-Star teams in that five-year stretch. Cedeño stole at least 50 bases in six consecutive seasons from 1972-77, hit for the cycle twice, and hit .309 with 48 steals in 1980 to help push Houston to its first playoff berth.
Roy Hofheinz (1962-76)
One of the founding fathers of the Astros, Judge Roy Hofheinz was the first owner of the Houston franchise. A state legislator at age 22, a Harris County judge at age 24 and the mayor of Houston at age 40, Hofheinz played an instrumental role in getting the Colt .45s to Houston in 1962, and in 1965 renamed the club the Astros to coincide with the opening of the first domed stadium in professional sports history, the iconic Astrodome. Hofheinz revolutionized baseball and the sports industry in many ways, including his decision to utilize an artificial playing surface in 1966 which he dubbed "AstroTurf", his influence on stadium design, and his transformation of the stadium experience. Hofheinz brought the idea of a domed stadium to life, where he implemented luxury VIP accommodations, restaurants, sky boxes, and the world's largest electronic scoreboard all inside a climate-controlled atmosphere that was twice the size of any previous similar structure. A visionary whose influence is still seen in ballparks and sports facilities around the world today, Hofheinz put Houston on the international map and changed the sports industry forever.
Roy Oswalt (2001-10)
Roy Oswalt ushered in a new era of Astros baseball as the club's first bona-fide ace to pitch inside their new ballpark in downtown Houston, Minute Maid Park. After debuting as a rookie in 2001 with a 14-3 record and a 2.73 ERA, good for a runner-up finish in the NL Rookie of the Year voting, Oswalt went on to win 143 games with a 3.24 ERA in 303 games (291 starts) in an Astros uniform. A 23rd-round pick in the 1996 draft out of Holmes Community College in Ridgeland, Miss., Oswalt ranks second in franchise history in career wins, second in strikeouts (1593), third in innings pitched (1932.1) and fifth in ERA. Oswalt was named to three All-Star teams as a member of the Astros, and won 20 games in back-to-back seasons from 2004-05. He went 4-0 in eight games during the 2004-05 playoffs, pitching Houston to wins in two series-clinching games, including Game 6 of the 2005 NLCS at St. Louis that sent the Astros to their first World Series berth in franchise history.
Billy Wagner (1995-2003)
A seven-time All-Star and one of the most dominating closers in Major League history, Billy Wagner spent the first nine years of his standout 16-year MLB career with Houston, posting 225 saves and 694 strikeouts in 464 games with the Astros. Wagner was selected by Houston in the first round of the 1993 draft, and within four years became Houston's shutdown closer at the Major League level. He set an Astros single-season franchise record for saves in 1999 (39 saves), before topping his own club-record mark in 2003 with 44 saves. In 1999, Wagner finished fourth in the NL CY Young Award race after putting up a 1.57 ERA and 39 saves with 124 strikeouts in just 74.2 innings pitched. The Astros franchise leader in career saves, Wagner was the epitome of consistency, as he posted an ERA of 2.85-or-better in 15 of his 16 Major League seasons.
Bob Watson (1966-79)
Bob Watson spent 14 of his 19 Major League seasons with the Astros, making two All-Star teams while batting .297 with 241 doubles, 139 home runs, 782 RBI and an .808 OPS in 1,381 games. He scored MLB's one millionth run on May 4, 1975, and became the first player in MLB history to hit for the cycle in both the National League and the American League. Following his playing career, Watson became the second African-American General Manager in Major League history when he was named GM of the Astros in 1994. In 1996, Watson became the first African-American GM to win a World Series when he did so as GM of the New York Yankees. One of baseball's greatest ambassadors in his 45-plus years working in the game, Watson served as a Vice President for the Commissioner's Office of MLB until his retirement in 2010. In 2018, the Astros honored Watson by building the Bob Watson Education Center at the Astros Youth Academy in North Houston.