1994 – Houston signs first baseman Sid Bream. As a backup to Jeff Bagwell, he contributes mostly as a pinch-hitter, delivering a .344 average in the strike-shortened season. Of course, Bagwell hit .368 in an MVP year so Bream got scant attention for his superb play. After the strike, he never appears again in the majors.
Johnny Temple dies at age 66 in White Rock, SC. A five-time all-star in Cincinnati, he has a .263 average over two seasons with the Colt .45s as a reserve then comes back to Houston as a sportscaster for KHOU-TV.
1993 – Slugger Eric Anthony is traded to Seattle for lefthander Mike Hampton. It’s one of the better swaps in team history as Hampton steadily improves in his six seasons in Houston while Anthony is unable to regain his batting stroke.
1993 – Astros deal righthanders Doug Jones and Jeff Juden to Philadelphia for lefthander Mitch Williams. The two closers both falter in their new roles while Juden fails to catch on despite pitching for eight different organizations.
1993 – Astros deal pitcher Xavier Hernandez to the Yankees for pitcher Domingo Jean and infielder Andy Stankewicz. It is Jean the Astros covet but he never makes it back to the majors after ten games with New York. Stankewicz bats .189 in a reserve role over the next two seasons.
1993 – Talks begin on building a new downtown stadium – for the Oilers. Bud Adams makes his pitch to civic leaders for a new home with more luxury suites. Astros owner Drayton McLane argues that there’s nothing wrong with the Astrodome a little sprucing up couldn’t fix.
1993 – Terry Collins is hired as Astros manager. Coming from the Pirates organization, Collins projects an aggressive no-nonsense attitude that eventually wears thin on the veteran players.
1993 – Pete Harnisch one-hits the Padres, 3-0 . The lone hit is a sixth-inning bunt by Jarvis Brown that many think should have been ruled an error on first baseman Chris Donnels. Donnels atones with a two-run double in the seventh to provide Harnisch offensive support.
1993 – Jeff Bagwell’s hand is broken on a pitch by Philadelphia’s Ben Rivera. Short term, the Astros don’t hurt much as replacement Chris Donnels smashes a home run in a 9-2 triumph. Craig Biggio also goes deep. Pete Harnisch sails to his 14th victory.
1993 – Pete Harnisch hurls a one-hitter at Wrigley Field to begin a doubleheader sweep of the Cubs. Mark Grace’s single in the seventh is the lone hit. Luis Gonzalez swats a double, triple and homer to drive in all four runs in the 4-0 opener. Gonzo belts another homer in the nightcap then Kevin Bass takes over to finish the 5-2 sweeper. Craig Biggio adds two doubles and a triple among his five hits.
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