2002 – Pinch-hitter Gregg Zaun blasts a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth off Byung-Hyun Kim to stun the Diamondbacks, 7-4. Octavio Dotel is the surprise winner. Lance Berkman and Brad Ausmus also go deep.
2002 – Stunned by the death of ex-teammate Darryl Kile, Astro veterans Craig Biggio, Brad Ausmus and Jeff Bagwell sit out a game against the Seattle Mariners. But all come in to pinch hit as the game moves into extra innings with an emotional Bagwell singling home Julio Lugo with the winning run in the 12th for a 3-2 victory. Daryle Ward plates the other two runs. Ricky Stone wins in relief.
2002 – Lance Berkman’s grand slam highlights a seven-run fourth as Houston blows past the Brewers, 9-3. Berkman’s five RBIs give him 62 on the season to lead the league. Wade Miller gets the victory.
2002 – Astros announce they have purchased back the naming rights of their ballpark from Enron for $2.1 million dollars. The 30-year deal signed in 1999 winds up in bankruptcy court after Enron collapses in scandal during the fall of 2001. Tentatively, the park is named Astros Field while a new sponsor is sought.
2001 – Bo Belinsky dies in Las Vegas, NV at age 64 of a heart attack. The colorful southpaw has a 3-9 record in Houston in 1967 while finding Houston’s nightlife not up to former stops in Los Angeles and Philadelphia. In later years, the noted playboy who romanced starlets in L.A., found sobriety and religion.
2001 – Former Astro Ken Caminiti is arrested on drug possession charges. The infielder had previously battled alcoholism and will admit the following year that he used steroids in his MVP season with San Diego. He would die in 2004 of heart failure.
2001 – Brad Ausmus wins the Gold Glove for National League catchers, given annually in recognition of defensive skills. He becomes the first Houston catcher so honored and the first Astro to be selected since Craig Biggio in 1997. Ausmus would win the award again in 2002.
2001 – Bill Spiers announces his retirement. Back problems limit the versatile utilityman from continuing a career that saw its heyday in Houston after stops in Milwaukee and New York. He bats .288 with 21 homers and 199 RBIs during six years as an Astro, and is best known for his clutch hitting and solid infield play.
2001 – Coach Matt Galante ends a 22-year run in the Astros organization when he accepts a coaching position with the New York Mets. Galante managed Houston farm clubs and skippered the Astros in 1999 while Larry Dierker recovered from a brain seizure. He returns to the Astros in 2005 as a special assistant to the General Manager.
2001 – Larry Dierker resigns as manager, ending a five-year run that can be argued as the most successful in team history. His winning percentage (.553) is tops for the franchise. His 448 wins rank second to Bill Virdon. The good news was four division crowns in five years. The bad news was a 2-12 post-season record, failing to escape out of the first round of the playoffs each year. But the numbers don’t begin to capture Dierker’s story, one as unique as the Hawaiian-shirted lanky Californian that has spent practically his entire adulthood with the franchise.
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