The Pecan Park Eagle

Humble me with HOF Pitcher Phil Niekro (L) and Joe Niekro, one of my All Time Astros Starters (2005).

Based upon their record-setting years, my personal memories and evaluations of each, and by easy reference to the critical supportive data available to us from the folks at Baseball Almanac, here are my choices for My All Time Houston Astros 5-Man Starting Rotation:

(1) Mike Scott (1986) 18-10, 2.22 era (306 k, 1 no-no)

(2) J.R. Richard (1979) 18-13, 2.71 era (313 k)

(3) Roger Clemens (2004) 18-4, 2.98 era (218 k, Cy Young NL)

(4) Joe Niekro (1979) 21-11, 3.00 era (119 k)

(5) Roy Oswalt (2005) 20-12, 2.94 era (184 k)

My only overriding criterion was that I would force myself to choose players for a single season performance as a member of the Houston Astros. Three of my favorite past Astros pitchers, Nolan Ryan, Larry Dierker, and Don Wilson, didn’t make the cut because I could not justify that any of them had an Astros year that surpassed the performances of the five men on my selection list.

What are your own picks for an all time starting Houston Astros five over the first half century of the franchise (1962-2011)? 

Please pick your own guys and post them as replies to this column. I will be especially interested to see if you can find a lefty that justifies bumping any of the far more numerous right-handed candidates for consideration as members of this honorable group.

Here are some of the Baseball Almanac lists and links that helped me settle upon my own picks:

Houston Astros E.R.A Leaders

1979: J.R. Richard  (2.71)

1981: Nolan Ryan (1.69)

1986: Mike Scott (2.22)

1987: Nolan Ryan (2.76)

1990: Danny Darwin (2.21)

2005: Roger Clemens (1.87)

2006: Roy Oswalt (2.98)