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HOUSTON – When a team makes two runs to Game 7 of the World Series in a span of three years, there are bound to be countless memorable moments along the way. The Astros provided many of those during the past four seasons at Minute Maid Park.
From thrilling World Series wins to unforgettable accomplishments by some of the best players in the game, Minute Maid Park has packed a ton of history into its 20-plus years. Here are the top 10 moments in the ballpark’s history:
1. Walk-off win in Game 5 of 2017 World Series
Oct. 29, 2017
In one of the wildest games in World Series history, Alex Bregman’s walk-off single to left field off Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen in the 10th inning scored pinch-runner Derek Fisher from second base and sent the Astros to a 13-12 win and 3-2 lead in the Fall Classic.
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HOUSTON The Astros, in their long history, have never had a player hit four homers in a game. Perhaps nobody has come closer, though, than Vinny Castilla, who became one of 12 players in club history to slug three homers a game when he did it on July 28, 2001, at the Pirates.
Castilla hit a solo homer in the second, a three-run homer in the fifth and a solo homer in the eighth, helping Houston to an 8-2 lead it blew in the ninth inning, when Brian Giles hit a walk-off grand slam off Billy Wagner to complete a stunning comeback. It was also Giles that robbed Castilla of what would have been a fourth home run when he made a leaping catch at the wall in the fourth inning.
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HOUSTON The sun always shines inside Minute Maid Park, whether the roof is open or not. If you’ve spent any time at the ballpark, you have noticed a bright yellow sunshine situated next to the No. 7 hanging in the rafters that represents the retired number of Hall of Famer Craig Biggio.
The sunshine is a tribute to the Sunshine Kids, a non-profit organization dedicated to children with cancer that Biggio supported throughout his 20-year career in Houston. The sunshine is a replica of the pin Biggio wore on his cap during Spring Training and in batting practice throughout his playing career, but that was only a fraction of the support Biggio put behind the organization.
Jeff Bagwell was a marvel. You have to be one to get into the Hall of Fame. If you happen to be a first baseman, your bat has to be particularly marvelous for you to reach Cooperstown. Bagwell hit .297/.408/.540 across 15 years with the Houston Astros, tallied 449 home runs, won an MVP in 1994 and also took home Rookie of the Year in 1991. So, yeah, pretty good.
But even if Bagwell
hadn’t been one of the premier sluggers of his era (or any era), he’d have been worth watching. That’s because his stance was incredible. I’m using the word in its most literal sense: if you had never before encountered Jeff Bagwell and were presented with his batting stance, you’d basically never believe it was real. It looks like a drunk man attempting to fend off a seagull. While pooping.