As time marches on, Astros are losing their identity

    As another major league baseball season approaches, I have a question.
    “Hey, weren’t you once the Houston Astros?”
    When the Houston Colt 45s began play in the National League in 1962, they began to cultivate a fan base in Louisiana. That fan base multiplied many times over when the Astrodome and the Astroworld amusement park were built.
    As a kid, the Astrodome made quite an impression. So, did the number of Zs on the giant outfield scoreboard when Houston favorite Jose Cruz-z-z would launch a home run.
    The Astros would reach their zenith in 2005 with their first World Series appearance.
    Those were the salad days of Houston baseball. Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio and Lance Berkman were the middle of a formidable order.
    Roy Oswalt, who pitched very briefly with the Zephyrs in 2001, was that season’s National League Championship series Most Valuable Player.
    In 2007, the Astros drew more than 3 million fans.
    Six years later, the Houston Astros look like anything but a major league club. Their best player is a 5-foot-5 infielder. Can you name him?
    The Astros won just 56 games in 2011. Last season, they were worse. They won 55 games. Houston’s home attendance cratered at 1.6 million fans.
    At WGNO-TV, I work alongside one of the biggest Astros fans on the planet. When he stopped watching, I knew the baseball was bad. And, watching games on TV and seeing all of those empty seats at Minute Maid Park was truly depressing.
    Minute Maid is a great place to watch a game. The park has many signature features. They include the Crawford boxes in left field and Tal’s Hill in centerfield.
    Minute Maid doesn’t get a lot of chatter for being one of baseball’s best venues. But, it is.
    Not only has good baseball left Houston, but so has the National League. New owner Jim Crane got a $70 million discount on the franchise purchase price by agreeing to move to the American League.
    So, instead of Astros vs. Dodgers, it will be Astros against Angels. When the Astros travel to Missouri, they’ll head west to Kansas City, not east to St Louis.
    Former Astros outfielder Jimmy Wynn (the Toy Cannon) told the Houston Chronicle that another team, not the Astros, should have moved to the American League.
    “Milwaukee came from the American League,” said Wynn. “The National League team is the Houston Astros.”
    A Houston Chronicle poll said 76 percent of Astros fans preferred to remain in the National League. The Rangers, Red Sox and Yankees visiting likely will boost attendance. But, there’s something just not right about Houston, the designated hitter and the American League in the same sentence.
    It’s like Bill Clinton announced one day he would be joining the Republicans. And, on the same day, Rush Limbaugh said would be switching to the Democrats.
    This season, the Astros slogan is “It’s a whole new ballgame.”
    Ed Daniels is sports director of ABC26 WGNO. He can be reached at [email protected].