2001 – Craig Biggio returns from knee surgery in style with the first five-hit game of his career during an 11-3 Opening Day win against Milwaukee, scoring three times. Daryle Ward and Chris Truby belt homers.
2002 – Lance Berkman drills two home runs and Roy Oswalt scatters seven hits as Houston tops the Boston Red Sox, 5-1, in an exhibition at the newly-renamed Astros Field. Scrubbed are virtually all signs of Enron, whose naming-rights deal for the ballpark fell into bankruptcy court. The win is also a little sweeter for manager Jimy Williams who was fired by the Sox midway through the 2001 season.
2001 – Astros drop the first of a two-game exhibition series in Valencias, Venezuela to the Cleveland Indians, 7-6. The following day’s game would end in an 8-8 tie after Adam Everett’s two-run homer in the ninth produces the stalemate.
2001 – Craig Cullinan, the last surviving member of the four men who brought Major League Baseball to Houston, is honored at the annual Houston Baseball Dinner. Jeff Bagwell is also there to pick up his 2000 Astros Most Valuable Player Award.
Houston signs infielder Charlie Hayes to a contract. The veteran hits .200 in 50 at bats but might be best remembered for a chair-throwing incident early in the year.
2000 – Astros sign first baseman Jeff Bagwell to a five-year, $83 million dollar deal, assuring he will stay with the Astros for most, if not all, of his major league career. In his first ten seasons in Houston, Bagwell has averaged 31.9 homers and 109.3 RBIs per year.
2000 – Reliever Mike Jackson is inked to a free agent contract. The native Houstonian fashions a 5-3 record with four saves in his one season as an Astro.
2000 – Disappointments Mitch Meluskey, Roger Cedeno and Chris Holt are sent to the Detroit Tigers for catcher Brad Ausmus and pitchers Doug Brocail and Nelson Cruz. It’s the second trip to Houston for both Ausmus and Brocail. Meluskey leaves with a .291 career average and 15 homers but questions arose about his abilities behind the plate. Holt leaves with a 21-42 record.
2000 – Andujar Cedeno dies in an automobile accident in his hometown of La Romana, DR, at age 31. The shortstop arrives with high expectations and hits .250 with 31 homers during five seasons but he has trouble fulfilling his potential and is included in the mega-trade with San Diego, eventually returning from Detroit for three final big league games in 1996.
2000 – Jeff Bagwell goes deep off Everett Stull for his 47th home run of the year, besting his own club record. The Astros hold on to nip the Brewers, 7-6. Keith Ginter and Lance Berkman also homer.
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