1972 Astros stun the Giants with ten runs in the ninth for a 13-7 victory. Cesar Cedeno contributes two hits in the inning, part of five on the day. Lee May has a three-run blast in the uprising.
1972 – Houston Astros at the Astrodome. Cesar Cedeno- Jim Wynn-lee May-Bob Watson-Doug Rader
1971 – First baseman John Mayberry is traded to the Kansas City Royals for reliever Jim York. Expected to be the new closer in the Houston bullpen, York earns a 9-11 mark with seven saves in four seasons with the Astros.
On November 29, 1971, six teams are involved in a series of blockbuster trades. In a swap of star pitchers, the San Francisco Giants send Gaylord Perry to the Cleveland Indians for Sam McDowell. Perry will win the Cy Young Award in 1972 and later become the first pitcher to win the award…
1971 – Joe Morgan bashes an 11th-inning homer on his 28th birthday to torpedo the Reds, 5-4. It’s his last long ball before the Reds acquire him in a trade. Cesar Cedeno goes 4-for-4. Despite the win, Houston is eliminated from the division race.
Making his debut against the Braves, Astros’ hurler Larry Yount injures his right shoulder on his very first warm-up pitch and will never get another chance to pitch in the bigs. Robin’solder brother’s total major league experience will consist of just one-warm up pitch.
On September 2, 1971, At the Astrodome, trailing 3-2 to Los Angeles, and with the bases full, Houston Astros outfielder Cesar Cedeno bloops a pitch off Claude Osteen into shallow right field. Bill Buckner and Jim Lefebvre collide while trying to catch the ball and it trickles into the corner. By the time the…
1971 – Nickel Beer Night at the Dome ends, appropriately, with a Miller. Bob Miller of San Diego tosses a 1-2-3 ninth to seal a 4-3 Houston loss. After the game, drunken fans spill onto the field, looting the Padre dugout and pantomiming pitching and baserunning until police restore order.
1971 – Astros turn the first triple play in their history during a 9-4 victory over Nolan Ryan and the Mets . Shortstop Roger Metzger takes a tap by Cleon Jones and steps on second, forcing Tommie Agee. His toss to first beats Jones to the bag. First baseman Denis Menke sees Ken Boswell make a belated dash to third so he fires across the diamond where Doug Rader completes the trifecta.
1971 – “If they ever want to rate the 10 greatest catches of all time,” maintains The Sporting News’s correspondent and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette sports editor Charley Feeney, “Roberto Clemente’s fantastic catch of Bob Watson’s line drive in Houston’s Astrodome will have to be among them.” Most of the 16,307 fans give Clemente a standing ovation for his feat, which deprives Watson of a home run in the 8th inning. It would have put the Astros ahead, 2 – 1. Instead, Steve Blass holds on to a 1 – 0 lead and the Bucs will score twice more for a 3 – 0 win. Joe Morgan is on first base with two out when Watson hits his vicious liner toward the right field corner. Clemente, going full speed, races toward the wall and, in one sudden move, makes a twisting leap for a one-handed grab, back to the plate, just before the ball would have hit above the yellow line on the wall, in home run territory. When Clemente comes down, his body hits the wall and he suffers a bruised left ankle and his left elbow also is swollen. Blood spills from a gash on the left knee. Clemente slumps on both knees, back to the infield. The Houston fans stand up and cheer. A second standing ovation will precede Clemente’s at-bat in the top of the 9th. On the preceding play, Clemente made a skidding shoestring catch of Cesar Cedeno’s Texas Leaguer, then threw perfectly to second base while on his knees to prevent Morgan from advancing.
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