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Sunday, August 16, 1998
The Big Unit creating big excitement in Astrodome
By MICHAEL A. LUTZ
AP Sports Writer
HOUSTON -- Suddenly, the Astrodome is rocking again.
Even Nolan Ryan is back, this time as a fan. He joined 40,000
others on their feet to cheer Randy Johnson as the Big Unit pitched
his second straight shutout since coming to the Houston Astros.
Fans haven't had this much to get excited about since Ryan
was tantalizing them in the 1980s with his blazing fastballs.
The way things are going for the Astros, October celebrations
are possible. Houston already was enjoying its best season in
franchise history before Johnson arrived in a trade with Seattle
on July 31.
Now the future is especially bright.
"There were times when the Oilers really got this place
stirred up and us too in the playoffs, but not the regular season
like this," manager Larry Dierker said. "I've never
seen people in Houston do that. It's great."
The catalyst has been Johnson, who struck out 13 in his 3-0
victory against the Brewers on Wednesday night.
"The guy has a charisma about him, with his size and the
strikeout records, it brings a lot more excitement to the game,"
Dierker said. "This is what we needed. The Astrodome wasn't
that exciting a place, but he's brought the fans out."
The Astros are averaging 27,598 fans per game, putting them
on pace for a season record. They'll easily get there if Johnson
keeps packing them in.
A regular-season record crowd of 52,071 crammed the cavernous
stadium for Johnson's home debut and cheered his every move. Against
the Brewers, Johnson got a standing ovation for an RBI single,
then everyone was back on their feet when he walked to the mound
to start the next inning.
"Fans can help you do things," Johnson said. "When
the fans get excited, that uplifts the athletes.
"It does get a little overwhelming when you are driving
to your hotel and kids are screaming at you out of the window
and you go to the mall and people are looking at you."
Johnson's impact has been most noticeable with his new teammates.
"This really has picked us up in the dog days of August,"
second baseman Craig Biggio said. "When we made that trade
it lifted everybody. That had never happened before where this
club brought in a marquee player like that. It's fun playing behind
him."
General manager Gerry Hunsicker said nearly two years ago that
the Astros were on the verge of their golden era.
At the time, it seemed rather unlikely. Fans were angry because
the team seemed likely to move to Virginia. Baseball people were
snickering because the new manager was a rookie hired out of the
broadcast booth.
Now it looks as if Hunsicker knew what he was talking about.
Houston is headed toward a second straight division title and
may finally shed its tag as being the NL's oldest team never to
win a postseason series.
Ever since the Astros pulled off the shocking deal to get Johnson,
more people have been talking about the Astros as World Series
contenders.
Such optimism didn't exist two years ago, when owner Drayton
McLane was talking about moving the team unless a new stadium
was built. The Houston Oilers had left for the same reason, and
it seemed the Astros might follow.
The question was put to Houston voters: build a ballpark and
keep the team, or let 'em walk.
Before the vote, the team made a move widely viewed as a PR
stunt by hiring popular broadcaster and former pitcher Dierker
as manager.
It's hard to say which of the following events was more surprising
-- the stadium measure passing by the slimmest of margins or Dierker,
who had no managing experience at any level, leading the Astros
to the NL Central crown in his first season.
The team went on to lose in the playoffs to the Atlanta Braves,
but this year's success proves the Astros and Dierker weren't
one-hit wonders.
There's plenty of reasons to believe this high time will last
longer than the joys of 1980 and 1986 -- when Houston won its
division and came oh-so-close to the World Series before sinking
back to mediocrity.
This time, front-line players like Biggio, Jeff Bagwell and
Moises Alou are in their prime, the farm system is stocked with
top prospects and a 42,000-seat retractable roof stadium, known
as the Ballpark at Union Station, is scheduled to open in 2000.
McLane already has signed a 30-year lease for the $250 million
stadium.
The Johnson trade could be the last piece of the puzzle.
"I like the atmosphere here," said Alou, acquired
from Florida in the offseason. "Now that we've got Randy,
hopefully that will be the thing we needed to make it to the World
Series."
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