Houston Astros: Armed and Dangerous

Pitchers Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens brought an incredible amount of excitement and energy to the Houston Astros in 2005, pushing the organization to its first World Series and the first Fall Classic ever held in the state of Texas. Houston Astros: Armed and Dangerous, written by Houston Chronicle national baseball writer Jesus Ortiz, chronicles the team´s last two historic seasons, beginning with the sensitive negotiations that led Pettitte and Clemens to Houston prior the 2004 season.

The book details the overwhelming expectations that almost buried the 2004 Astros, prompting the firing of manager Jimy Williams before Phil Garner took over and led the team to an amazing 36-10 record to end the season, the best finish in baseball in over 50 years. It also chronicles the disappointing departures of 2004 post-season and regular-season stars Jeff Kent and Carlos Beltran, who bolted via free agency and left the 2005 Astros seemingly with no hope. Many experts and even several of the players assumed the Astros would finish near the bottom of the standings, especially after All-Star Lance Berkman missed the first month of the season recovering from right knee surgery and club icon Jeff Bagwell was lost in May with right shoulder problems.

After falling to 15-30 on May 24, the Astros were discounted by most of the experts. The Houston Chronicle even put a tombstone on the cover of its June 1 edition declaring the team´s season over. A funny thing happened on the way to the funeral, though, as Ortiz details in Houston Astros: Armed and Dangerous. The Astros rebounded and won the National League Wild Card, going all the way to the World Series while becoming the first team since the 1914 Boston Braves to go from 15 games under .500 to the playoffs in the same season. Houston Astros: Armed and Dangerous looks at a truly momentous and memorable season for the Houston Astros, from the rough start to the 18-inning classic against the Atlanta Braves in the playoffs to the celebration of the club´s first-ever National League pennant.