Enron Field officially opens with a 6-5 exhibition win over the A.L. Champion New York Yankees, paralleling the feat that occured when the Astrodome opened in 1965. Daryle Ward’s two-run homer caps a four-run eighth-inning rally to open up the Astros’ new home in style.
2000 – Two armed gunmen rob six Astros minor leaguers in a motel in Kissimmee, FL. One is apprehended at the scene while the other fled after jumping through a second-story window. One player suffers a bite to his neck.
2000 – Major League Baseball comes to the Dominican Republic for the first time as the Astros drop the Boston Red Sox, 4-3, at Estadio Quisqueya in Santo Domingo. Jeff Bagwell launches two homers to pace the Houston victory. Dominican pitcher Jose Limathrills his countrymen with a 3-2 triumph the next day.
Houston signs veteran pitcher and former Cy Young winner Dwight “Doc” Gooden to a free agent contract. He pitches in the debut of Enron Field but gets into only one game during the regular season before he is sent to Tampa Bay.
1999 – Lefthander Mike Hampton and outfielder Derek Bell are traded to the Mets for pitcher Octavio Dotel and outfielder Roger Cedeno. It’s primarily a financial move that causes the Astros to part with their 22-game winner. While Dotel would flourish, Cedeno would be gone after one season in Houston, batting .282 in 74 games.
1999 – Outfielder Carl Everett is traded to Boston for infielder Adam Everett and pitcher Greg Miller. In two seasons, Carl Everett blossoms from a reserve outfielder to a star. In 1999, he bats .325 with 25 homers and 108 RBIs. Adam Everett would hit .248 with 35 homers over seven seasons in Houston.
1999 – Jeff Bagwell finishes second in the voting for N.L. Most Valuable Player but Atlanta’s Chipper Jones is the runaway winner. Bagwell receives one first-place vote.
1999 – Randy Johnson wins the N.L. Cy Young Award despite five fewer wins than runner-up Mike Hampton who leads the circuit with 22. Astro teammates Jose Lima and Billy Wagner tie for fourth in the voting.
1999 – Off-seasons can be hazardous to your health. Ken Caminiti finds this out falling out of a deer stand while hunting near Laredo. He fractures three vertebrae and will spend the next two months healing his aching back.
1999 – In the last major league game held at the Astrodome, the Astros run out of gas in a 7-5 loss to the Braves, ending the N.L.D.S. by dropping three of four . Houston falls behind, 7-0, before making a late charge. Tony Eusebio and Ken Caminiti belt home runs to make the game close but the Astros come up short.
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