20 Astros Greats Who Never Made the Hall of Fame

Last Updated: September 9th, 2026 by Shaiel Ben-Ephraim

For the Houston Astros, being left out of the Hall of Fame is the norm. In all the years that they've existed, they've had only three players brought up: Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, and Billy Wagner. So there are a lot of players that Astros fans rightly or wrongly feel like they should be there, and there's a reason a lot of these players can feel hard done by from 65 to 99. The Astros played in the Astrodome, which was the most punishing hitting environment of its era.

It robbed so many players of batting averages, slugging averages, and home runs; it destroyed some careers, really. And they didn't have a World Series until 2005, so they were kind of playing in obscurity that whole time.

Now they were important to the league with the Colt 45 stadium and its legendary mosquitoes, the rainbow jerseys, the turf. They were a very visually memorable team, but the baseball didn't leave too much of a mark until late. Of course, in 2017 they left a little bit too much of a mark, if you know what I mean. But let's talk about these well-deserving players instead of talking about that.

20. Larry Dierker: Mr. Astro’s Legacy

Larry Dierker- I mean, he is just Mr. Astro or Mr. Colt 45. At least let's start with his debut on his 18th birthday; the first batter he ever faced in the major leagues was Willie Mays, who he struck out. In 1969, he became the first 20-game winner in franchise history, a two-time All-Star for the franchise, with a career of 139 wins, 123 losses, and a 3.31 ERA.

Now, he never had anywhere near enough wins or consistency to make the Hall of Fame, but he never left the team. He was their color commentator from 79 to 1996, and he had one of the most memorable memoirs ever written by a baseball player, and he called it "This Ain't Brain Surgery."

The man was the team, is beloved, and is just the kind of player that everyone likes who doesn't make it into the Hall.

Larry Dierker — Career	Total
W	139
L	123
ERA	3.31
G	356
IP	2333.2
SO	1493
WHIP	1.22
SV	1
All-Star selections	2

19. Ken Caminiti: The Toro of Third Base

Ken Caminiti was a tough player and a complicated man, but let's remember what was fantastic about this guy. He came up with the Astros as a third-round pick out of San Jose State in '84. Art immediately recognized Ken Caminiti as my third baseman, who grew up alongside Biggio, Bagwell, and Finley.

What a core the Astros had at that time. The peak of his career, though, we have to say, was in San Diego. That's where he had three straight Golden Gloves; that's where he won that unanimous National League MVP.

He didn't quite have the numbers to make the Hall of Fame: a .272 batting average, 239 home runs, but what we really remember him for is the toughness. He played a month and a half with a torn rotator cuff. In Monterrey, Mexico, he played sick with food poisoning and hit two home runs.

Now, with the whole thing with the steroids, he was the first person to talk about this with the press. In June 2002, he sat down with Sports Illustrated and said he used steroids during his MVP season. He also said that half the league was using, and that's when all the hearing started; that's when the mess started. And of course, the drug problem she already had just got worse as a result, and he died young, and it's all very tragic.

But honestly, I look up to him for the fact that he was willing to tell the truth when no one else was. It's just part of the toughness and part of the authenticity that made him so great.

Ken Caminiti — Career	Total
G	1760
AB	6288
H	1710
HR	239
RBI	983
SB	88
AVG	.272
OBP	.347
SLG	.447
OPS	.794
MVP	1
All-Star selections	3
Gold Gloves	3
Silver Sluggers	1

18. Richard Hidalgo: The Venezuelan Thunder

We mostly remember Richard Hidalgo for that one amazing season, 2000. That year, hitting .314 with 44 home runs and 122 RBIs, he was the one who stood out in a lineup that had Bagwell and Biggio in it. And anyone who saw him remembers that arm. He led all major league outfielders in assists. Nobody ran on him. That continued for a while.

But he didn't stay that good, not because he didn't have the talent but because he couldn't catch a break. He developed really serious knee problems, which started to wear him down. He still could see the pitches great; it's just that he couldn't drive the ball anymore.

And then his left forearm was shot during a carjacking in Venezuela. He actually came back and hit well in 2003, but by 2004 it was all over. Talent was there. He had that one Hall of Fame season. Maybe if he hadn't been injured, we could be making a case for him.

Richard Hidalgo — Career	Total
G	987
AB	3459
H	929
HR	171
RBI	560
SB	48
AVG	.269
OBP	.345
SLG	.490
OPS	.835

17. Dave Smith: The Unsung Closer

Dave Smith may not have had the best arm in Astros history, but he probably had the most durable arm. 586 games pitched, still an Astros record. 199 saves were a record until Billy Wagner happened. 2.53 ERA, 3rd in Astros history, two All-Star selections.

Unfortunately, he kind of choked in two big spots. 1980 NLCS Game Four: giving up that single to Mike Schmidt that tied the game, they went on to win the series. '86 NLCS Game Six over the Mets: Smith came in, walked in to load the bases, Ray Knight tied it again, it went 16 innings, and we all know how that ended. So, 6.23 in the postseason, so much better in the regular season. Still, his contribution to the Astros was incredible.

Dave Smith — Career	Total
W	53
L	53
ERA	2.67
G	609
IP	809.1
SO	548
WHIP	1.21
SV	216
All-Star selections	2

16. Cesar Cedeno: The Dominican Gazelle

Cesar Cedeno, this one stinks. He was one of the best young players anyone had ever seen. Lots of players get compared to Willie Mays when they're in their early twenties, but this one actually earned it. 1972, he had .320, 22 homers, 55 stolen bases, and a Gold Glove.

Went on to do the same thing the next year, and that record still stands. He's the only player in MLB history with three straight seasons of 20 home runs and 50 stolen bases. 72, and the Astrodome is one of the reasons that you didn't hit more homers. You would have seen him have a lot more power if it wasn't robbing him of all that.

But it basically came to a halt when a tragic thing happened on December 11th, 1973. Now I wasn't there, so I don't know exactly what happened, but a 19-year-old woman was fatally shot by him in a hotel room in Santo Domingo, and he was charged with voluntary manslaughter, later convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

When he came back, he wasn't the same player. He was heckled everywhere; he had injuries. It stopped him from being the player that he should have been, and that's tragic. Also, more tragically, the death of that young woman in the motel room. Just a sad situation all around.

Cesar Cedeno — Career	Total
G	2006
AB	7310
H	2087
HR	199
RBI	976
SB	550
AVG	.285
OBP	.347
SLG	.443
OPS	.790
All-Star selections	4
Gold Gloves	5

15. Don Wilson: The Lost No-Hit King

Don Wilson had a truly dramatic career, with so many moments to remember, even though he died so young. One of his two no-hitters was a great revenge story. On April 30th, '69, Jim Maloney of the Reds pitched a no-hitter against the Astros. Wilson came back the next day and no-hit the Reds. Back-to-back no-hitters between the same two teams- unbelievable- and it's never happened again.

Strangest night of his career, though, was the one where he was on his way to a no-hitter and was pulled in the 8th inning against Cincinnati because Houston was actually losing two to one. His reaction: "I respect Preston Gomez, that's the manager, as a manager, and respect him more than ever." What a class act.

He never pitched after that. On January 5th, 1975, he died of carbon monoxide poisoning in the garage of his home. He was 29 at the time. His 5-year-old son died with him. His daughter Denise survived with very serious lasting injuries. The deaths were accidental and incredibly tragic.

Now, he probably wouldn't have been in the Hall of Fame even if that hadn't happened, but he would have enjoyed a great career as a really strong number two, number three starter, and occasionally could throw a no-hitter.

Don Wilson — Career	Total
W	104
L	92
ERA	3.15
G	266
IP	1748.1
SO	1283
WHIP	1.21
SV	2
All-Star selections	1

14. Mike Scott: The Splitter Scandal

Mike Scott, at his peak, was terrifying. He actually started out with the Mets, which is ironic, and Wilson sees why. Then, coming to the Astros, he learned the split-finger fastball from Roger Craig, and that's when he went from zero to hero. Over the five years that came after that, he went 86 and 49 with a 2.93 ERA, and in '86 he even won the National League Cy Young.

Now, the NLCS series of '86- that's the peak of his career- even though it didn't go the way the Astros wanted it to. He beat the Mets in game one and in game 4 with complete games, and he was named NLCS MVP even though Houston lost the series. That is not very common, only the second player to do that. That's one of the reasons Game 6 went to 16 innings; the Mets knew that if they got to Game 7, they would face Scott again, and they absolutely refused to do that.

The mental for the Mets, the losers too; they accused him of scuffing the ball. Scott said every ball that hits the ground has something on it. Sad, anything to this, and in '89 he tore his rotator cuff, and that ended his peak. Still, the Astros retired his number because he was absolutely incredible in those years.

Mike Scott — Career	Total
W	124
L	108
ERA	3.54
G	347
IP	2068.2
SO	1469
WHIP	1.20
SV	3
Cy Young	1
All-Star selections	3

13. Bill Doran: The Astrodome’s Artist

Bill Doran is top 10 for the Astros in a whole bunch of categories, but the Astrodome robbed him of a lot of his stats. He ended up with .266, 84 homers, and 497 RBIs in a building that really ate up his line drives. He was really, really popular with the fans but completely ignored by the sport at large.

When he was traded to Cincinnati on August 30th, 1990, he spent the whole year contributing to the Reds quite a lot, but he missed the whole postseason when he had to have back surgery on the day the Reds clinched the division. He said, "I didn't feel like I belong, I was just a rented player." But interestingly, he's ended up spending a lot of his coaching career in Cincinnati, so maybe he ended up feeling like he belonged. Hopefully he did.

Bill Doran — Career	Total
G	1453
AB	5131
H	1366
HR	84
RBI	497
SB	209
AVG	.266
OBP	.354
SLG	.373
OPS	.727

12. Glenn Davis: The Original Killer B

Glen Davis is a good guy, and he was a good power hitter; he was their power source in 84 to 1990, in very, very difficult years in the Astrodome. 1986 is the year to remember, hit 31 homers and 101 RBIs, was the Silver Slugger, and finished second in National League MVP voting behind Schmidt despite the Astrodome; top 10 in MVP voting three times.

Now, what a lot of people remember is his involvement in an awful trade, awful, but not for the Astros. In 1991, Houston sent him to Baltimore; that means we had three All-Stars going for a first baseman whose best years were long behind him. And indeed, his body gave out almost immediately: a neck injury in spring training 1991, nerve damage, and power was gone. He ended his career with only 190 home runs because of that injury and because of the astronaut.

But his post-career years could be seen as his best years. He had a rough childhood, and he founded The Carpenter's Way, a home for disadvantaged children in Columbus, Georgia; co-founded a home for girls in 2008; served on the city council; and runs a hotel development company. He's done good, and he's hit quite a few homers as well.

Glenn Davis — Career	Total
G	1015
AB	3719
H	965
HR	190
RBI	603
SB	28
AVG	.259
OBP	.332
SLG	.467
OPS	.799
All-Star selections	2
Silver Sluggers	1

11. Ken Forsch: No-Hit Wonder

Ken Forsch is remembered for two things primarily. One is for throwing the earliest no-hitter in baseball history in terms of when it was in the season, April 7th, 1979, at the Astrodome, beating the Braves six-nothing. Another thing he's remembered for is that his brother also threw a no-hitter. Bob Forsch did it twice for the Cardinals.

Now, he was an interesting guy. He was a genuine swingman, maybe the best. He made the All-Star team twice, as a reliever in '76 and as a starter in '81. Very few pitchers have been good enough in both categories to be All-Stars. And in '81, the Astros sent him to California for shortstop Dickie Thon, who became a young star for the Astros, but a fastball to the face derailed his career.

Solid career, great no-hitter, no Cooperstown case whatsoever, but some things to remember him by.

Ken Forsch — Career	Total
W	114
L	113
ERA	3.37
G	521
IP	2127.1
SO	1047
WHIP	1.25
SV	51
All-Star selections	2

10. Joe Niekro: The Other Knuckleball Brother

Joe Niekro is still the winningest pitcher in Astros history with 144. Roy Oswalt got within one and stopped. His best season was '79, with a 21 and 11 record, and second in the Cy Young voting behind Bruce Sutter. And of course everyone talks about him and his brother Phil, more famous, and both tied in '79 for the most wins, 21 apiece. It's the only time in history two brothers did that. Combined, they had 539 wins, most of any pair of brothers ever.

In 1980, he won 20 games, making him the first Astro to win 20 in back-to-back seasons.

But what a lot of people remember about him is the greatest ejection ever. It was August 3rd, 1987; he was pitching for the Twins. Umpires surrounded him on the mound and said Empty your pockets. Now, he took out an emery board and a piece of sandpaper and threw them in the air. When asked what they were doing there, he said, "Well, he was filing his nails." They didn't exactly believe him, and he was suspended.

Joe Niekro — Career	Total
W	221
L	204
ERA	3.59
G	702
IP	3584.0
SO	1747
WHIP	1.32
SV	16
All-Star selections	1
World Series titles	1

9. Terry Puhl: The Canadian Connection

Terry Puhl was about as reliable an outfielder as you could have. He committed 18 errors in 2,660 chances; that is a .993 fielding percentage, 8th all time among National League outfielders.

Whole seasons went by; he wouldn't make a single mistake, and he was at his best hitting in the 1980 NLCS when he hit .526 against the Phillies, a championship series record at that time. Didn't help them win, but still, in his 14 years in Houston, he was very much beloved.

He won the first Canadian Player of the Year award in '84. Astros ' famous University of Houston program after he retired. But he couldn't hit with power; he had 62 career home runs. He's on this list for the glove, and what a glove it was.

Terry Puhl — Career	Total
G	1531
AB	4855
H	1361
HR	62
RBI	435
SB	217
AVG	.280
OBP	.349
SLG	.388
OPS	.737
All-Star selections	1

8. Bob Watson: From Player to Pioneer

Bob Watson is probably one of the best pure hitters the Astros ever had, compiling a .297 batting average, not much power, and 139 RBIs. He also scored baseball's 1 millionth run on May 4th, 1975, and he won $10,000 and a million Tootsie Rolls; no idea what he did with those. He's also the first player to ever hit for the cycle in both leagues; he did it for the Astros in '77 and for Boston in '79.

But probably the most impressive thing about him is his post-playing career. He became the general manager of the Astros in '93, only the second African American to do that in the major leagues. He was the first African American general manager to win a World Series. He also helped assemble the US team that won the Olympic gold in 2000.

Unfortunately, at 74, he died of kidney disease, but he left an incredible legacy. And honestly, as a pioneering executive, he should probably be in the Hall of Fame just for that.

Bob Watson — Career	Total
G	1832
AB	6185
H	1826
HR	184
RBI	989
SB	27
AVG	.295
OBP	.364
SLG	.447
OPS	.811
All-Star selections	2

7. J.R. Richard: What Could Have Been

Jr Richard, this is a sad one when it comes to Raw Talent; there weren't many better. He was a 6-foot-8 picture with a fastball that went past 100 and a slider at 93. Today that's still faster than a lot of fastballs; back then it was terrifying.

In '71 in his debut, he struck out 15, and his Peak was probably in 1980; he went through the All-Star break 10-for-4 with a 196 ERA. In ' 79, he had back-to-back strikeout seasons, and he joined Koufax and Ryan as the only National League right-handers to do that.

But something bad started happening in mid-July 1980. Richard started talking about how his arm hurt; the organization dismissed it. They thought he was just jealous of Nolan Ryan's contract and even told the press as much. On July 30th 1980, he collapsed from a massive blockage in his right carotid artery. He had three separate strokes. He was 30 years old; he never pitched again.

And it got much worse after that: he had divorces, he had failed businesses, he ended up living under a bridge before he became a minister and found God. He died in 2021 at age 71. He left behind a lot of questions about what could have been and warnings to teams about why they should take the complaints of their players very seriously.

J.R. Richard — Career	Total
W	107
L	71
ERA	3.15
G	238
IP	1606.0
SO	1493
WHIP	1.24
SV	0
All-Star selections	1

6. Carlos Lee: El Caballo Rides Again

Carlos Lee, better known as El Caballo, had some very good years for Houston, but he's not fondly remembered, and that's because it came with a big contract. When you don't live up to a big contract, that can often be a problem. In 2006, he signed the six-year, $100 million contract, massive at the time.

The first three years he did deliver, but then on the back end of that, he didn't. So we're talking about three All-Star selections from 2005 to 2007, two Silver Sluggers, three straight 100 RBI seasons.

But in the 2011-2012 era, the Astros had one of the worst teams ever, and he also developed an increasingly bad defensive range- the worst of any starting left fielder in baseball- and a lot of people felt that he was being indifferent when the team was failing. Most of the problem wasn't because of that; it was the front office that tore up the team, but he wasn't putting in the effort to make up for it.

He retired at age 36. Now he has a ranch outside of Houston. No real Cooperstown claim there, but I think his reputation should probably be reevaluated. At his peak, he was fantastic.

Carlos Lee — Career	Total
G	2099
AB	7983
H	2273
HR	358
RBI	1363
SB	125
AVG	.285
OBP	.339
SLG	.483
OPS	.822
All-Star selections	3
Silver Sluggers	2

5. Bob Aspromonte: The Original Astro

Bob Aspromonte was the first guy to get a hit, the first guy at bat, the first stolen base for the Colt 45s in Houston. He was in there opening day lineup for 7 years straight, and he was also the last Brooklyn Dodger to play in a major league game right before they moved.

His career was pretty impressive. 252 over a thousand hits, 60 home runs. His best year was definitely '64 when he hit 280, 69 RBIs, and he was the Team MVP.

Now there's kind of a crazy story about him. Bill Bradley, a 9-year-old kid from Arkansas, was struck by lightning at a water fountain and lost his sight. Bear with me. So he went to Houston to get treatment, and he started listening to the Colt 45s on the radio, and he became a devoted Aspromonte fan and asked him to hit a home run for him, which he did. Then his sight was saved by a doctor, and he hit a grand slam home run for this kid.

Now the epilogue for this is kind of crazy. In 2003, way after he retired, Aspromonte was blinded in one eye when a car battery exploded. The same surgeon who had saved Bradley's eye was put on the case. His name was Dr. Lewis Gerard, and he restored the sight of Aspromonte as well. A beautiful story coming complete full circle for Bob.

Bob Aspromonte — Career	Total
G	1324
AB	4369
H	1103
HR	60
RBI	457
SB	19
AVG	.252
OBP	.308
SLG	.336
OPS	.644

4. Roy Oswalt: The Mississippi Mudcat

Roy Oswalt may not be in the Hall of Fame, but he's certainly one of the best pitchers the Astros ever had, and even his rookie year is ridiculous. 2001, he was 14 and three with a 2.73 ERA. He went back-to-back with 20-win seasons in 2004 and 2005, and in an era that was pretty hard to do, he was the first Astro to do it since Joe Niekro. He left with 143 wins, one less than Niekro, and continues to hold the franchise record, as we said.

In 2005, he hurled the game that brought the Astros into the World Series, and before that game, owner Drayton McLane went up to him and said, "Roy, if you win this game I'll buy you a brand new Caterpillar bulldozer," which he did, and he said afterwards that's a pretty good gift for Christmas, for sure.

He made the Hall of Fame ballot, didn't make it in; he just got four votes, 0.9. He never really had a case, but he is fondly remembered. Fantastic.

Roy Oswalt — Career	Total
W	163
L	102
ERA	3.36
G	365
IP	2245.1
SO	1852
WHIP	1.21
SV	0
All-Star selections	3

3. Lance Berkman: Big Puma’s Missing Plaque

Lance Berkman was an incredibly good hitter; he posted an OPS+ of 150 over six seasons. That's pretty incredible, and most of those ended up on the All-Star Team. Six All-Star selections, top 10 in the MVP voting six times. 2006 was his best season with 45 home runs and 136 RBIs, still the Astros ' single-season RBI record.

One of the best switch hitters anyone has ever seen, and he was the 3rd of the Killer Bees with Bagwell and Biggio. Even had a great coda with another team: in 2011, he won National League comeback player of the year with the Cardinals, and, one strike away from elimination in Game 6 of the World Series, he tied the game in the 10th inning.

And he was also often called "fat Elvis" by his teammates, but he convinced them to call him the "big Puma" instead. He always received 1.4% of the vote, but man, he deserved much more consideration than that. That guy could hit.

Lance Berkman — Career	Total
G	1879
AB	6491
H	1905
HR	366
RBI	1234
SB	86
AVG	.293
OBP	.406
SLG	.537
OPS	.943
All-Star selections	6
World Series titles	1

2. Jimmy Wynn: The Toy Cannon’s Lost Legacy

Jimmy Wynn is the kind of player who would be appreciated today but wasn't appreciated at the time. He had bat speed, he hit incredible Ops Plus, and he walked a lot, but back then all they cared about was your batting average. He hit so hard that they called him the Toy Cannon because he was 5'9", 165 lbs, and still hit the bejesus out of the ball.

And of course he was also robbed of a lot of his homers and best hits at the Astrodome, which lowered his ranking in the eyes of his peers. For example, in '65 he had .305 with 15 homers on the road and .247 with seven at home.

And it's really a shame that someone who had a .436 on-base percentage, which is MVP caliber, wasn't appreciated at the time. At his best season, he was 14th in the MVP rankings despite having statistically probably the second- or third-best numbers in the entire league.

Maybe now we know how good he was. You can take another look at his Cooperstown credentials.

Jimmy Wynn — Career	Total
G	1920
AB	6653
H	1665
HR	291
RBI	963
SB	225
AVG	.250
OBP	.366
SLG	.436
OPS	.802
All-Star selections	3

1. Jose Cruz: The Rainbow Jersey King

Jose Cruz had 13 memorable years for the Astros. He was their all-time hit leader until Big Joe passed him. He had a thousand 937. His triples record remains the record to this day with 80. He has two All-Star selections, and his peak year was 1980 when he hit 302 and had his first postseason appearance.

Now it has to be said, if he hadn't been in the Astrodome, he would have hit over 300 far more often. In fact, hard to believe that it's a. 284 career average; it wouldn't be over 300, which would have made people appreciate him a lot more in those batting-average days.

He also comes from an incredible baseball family. Two of his brothers reached the majors. His son played for 11 years. What a lot of people remember is the entire Astrodome calling out Cruz, sounding so much like booing that visiting broadcasters often got it wrong on air.

He even coached first base for the Astros from 97 to 2009 and still works for the club and community outreach. Just an integral part of the Astros.

Jose Cruz — Career	Total
G	2353
AB	7917
H	2251
HR	165
RBI	1077
SB	317
AVG	.284
OBP	.354
SLG	.420
OPS	.774
All-Star selections	2
Silver Sluggers	2

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