The Lunatic Fringe

Here’s what I’ll remember about the Houston Astros in the National League.

• Barry Bonds hitting home run #70 at Enron Field, and the fans booing the hell out of their pitcher and manager for refusing to pitch to him.

• Will Clark’s first at-bat.

• They played at AT&T Park on my birthday this year.  Matt Cain pitched that game.  I was in the bleachers.

• The source of the name of one of the few things I detest in baseball more than the DH.

• The most wonderfully terrible uniforms in my lifetime.

• Absolutely nothing to do with the playoffs.  Seriously, that was one of the most forgettable World Series of all time.

• One of the most unnecessary switches to the color red of all time.

The Astros have always been just one of the guys in the NL.  You know who was on the team, but they never really stood out.  They weren’t a rival.  They weren’t a threat.  Until recently, they weren’t doormats, either.  They were a middling team most of the time.  They were there.  Hell, when they changed their primary uniform color to red, it just kind of confirmed that very thing: they were just another team.  (3 teams in their division alone use red as a primary color, and 6 in the NL do the same thing.)

I was a kid when the Brewers switched leagues.  I remember it more because it was one of the first games I got a collectible pin than for the game itself.  The impact of a team switching leagues, something that hadn’t happened since before the 1900 season, was lost on me.  It was monumental, and yet, I didn’t really care.

The Astros switching leagues will be something I’ll notice more.  I’ll miss them.  Not like, crying in my pillow miss them.  But in a “Hey, why doesn’t the team visit Texas anymore” kind of way.  Also, the interleague everyday thing will be hard to miss.  I almost wish baseball would expand to two more teams just to make things make sense.

So, that’s it.  The Giants do have their trip to Houston to go in late August.  But for us Giants fans, this is goodbye.  Until interleague, at least.  It’s been swell, Houston.  Enjoy the AL.  I may not like the DH, but you sure have a park made for it.