HARRIS COUNTY - HSA INSIDER
A weekly look at all things Houston sports from the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority: What is next for the Hall of Fame?
Patti Smith
Feb 16, 2018, 8:18 am
Hakeem Olajuwon is one of three in the Houston Hall. Who is next? Photo by Tim DeFrisco/ALLSPORT/Getty Images
The Harris County – Houston Sports Authority Insider will take you inside Houston Sports each Friday because #WeAreHoustonSports!
Think of it as one giant first step for Houston. Honestly, three of them.
Yes, we’re talking about the new Houston Sports Hall of Fame, which will start with a Walk of Fame that stretches from the House of Blues through the GreenStreet Promenade.
It’s a bold and long overdue idea that has Houston buzzing.
Who should be in? Who shouldn’t? How many in each class? What do we do with the pioneers like Judge Roy Hofheinz? Jack Burke, Jr., and Jimmy Demaret? Jess Neely?
So many questions. A lot of time left to ponder and eventually answer them.
But right now it’s back to those steps.
What we know for sure is those first honorees are the Legendary 34s – Nolan Ryan, Earl Campbell and Hakeem Olajuwon. It doesn’t get much better than those three, who were all under the same roof at the same event for the first time ever last Thursday at the Houston Sports Awards.
This summer we will get a glimpse of phase one of that Hall, which was announced at the Houston Sports Awards. The renderings show plaques along the middle of the sidewalk honoring the inductees and those first three plaques will belong to Nolan, Earl and Hakeem. Their plaques will each have their signatures and will get a lot of foot traffic from GreenStreet shops and restaurants, which is a neutral site. In other words, it is not tied to one of Houston’s major sports teams.
The Walk will grow from there.
Plans for future phases include state-of-the-art LED video displays and interactive experiences. The last phase will be a brick-and-mortar interior space where reknown Houston artist Opie Otterstad’s 8-foot high paintings of the 34s will be displayed.
“The Houston Sports Awards had been a dream of mine for more than a decade, and to end that incredible night with the announcement of the Houston Sports Hall of Fame, made that dream even bigger,’’ said Harris County - Houston Sports Authority CEO Janis Burke.
“This is something all of Houston will celebrate and is long overdue. So many great athletes have come from here and have played here, and to celebrate and honor them with a Hall of Fame is something bigger than all of us, and will outlast us all.’’
She, too, couldn’t have dreamed of a better inaugural class, calling the 34s “easily three of the most revered athletes ever to play in their respective sports and we couldn’t be prouder to honor them as our first inductees.”
The Harris County - Houston Sports Authority is partnering with Midway and Lionstone on the project.
Brad Freels, Chairman of Midway, called the renderings of the project “an inspiring vision for the Houston Sports Hall of Fame in GreenStreet. We look forward to welcoming our neighbors and visitors from around the world to this new attraction honoring the spirit, dedication and courage of our hometown sports heroes.
“With the opening of Hotel Alessandra, downtown’s acclaimed boutique luxury hotel, and a thoroughly re-imagined three city-block urban mixed-use campus of GreenStreet, Midway and Lionstone Investments are creating a unique experience that celebrates the creativity, innovation and entrepreneurial energy of Houston unlike any other place.”
It will also be a place where Houstonians can celebrate some of the best athletes to play in the city and give visitors a chance to experience a little about some Hall of Famers they may only know by name.
And Houstonians? We’ll spend much of the next few months debating who will be honored at next year’s Houston Sports awards and just who should be honored in that second 2019 HOF Class.
Should Houston look at Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell? Hakeem’s Phi Slama Jama and Rockets buddy Clyde Drexler? A pioneer or two?
For the time being, just keep the buzz going. We’ll know soon enough who will follow in the footsteps – and plaques on the Walk -- of three of the best Houston has ever seen.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.