I try to follow both the Phillies (my birth city) and the Astros (where I live now). The past few years my two teams have gone in the opposite direction. In 2005, the Astros were in the World Series but it's been all downhill since then. The Phillies finished 2nd in the NL East in 2005 and, except for this disappointing season, have been a great team.
The last player from the 2005 team remaining with the Astros this year was Wandy Rodriguez. Wandy was 10-10 with the Astros that year. There were no major league cards of Wandy from 2005. He was traded to the Pirates in July.
I thought it would be fun to look at that 2005 Astros team and see where they are today.
2005 Donruss #201 Brad Ausmus
Brad was an 18-year player who retired in 2010. He spent 10 years with the Astros, in two stints. He won 3 Gold Gloves as the Astros catcher. Although 2005 was not a Gold Glove year but one of his best years offensively with a .258 batting average.
2005 Origins Old Judge Materials Jeff Bagwell
Jeff missed most of the 2005 season after shoulder surgery before the season. He returned to the club late in the season but had limited playing time in the post season. He attempted to come back for the 2006 season but retired during spring training.
2005 Leaf Century Material Fabric Position #117 Lance Berkman
Lance hit .293 for the 2005 season with 24 home runs. He had a great postseason. His best days seemingly behind him, the Astros unloaded him to the Yankees in 2010. He's been with the Cardinals the past two years. He was the NL Come Back Player of the year in 2011.
2005 Leather and Lumber #30 Craig Biggio
Craig was in his 18th year with the Astros in 2005. He had a pretty typical year for him, batting .264 with 26 home runs and 98 runs scored. After 2 years of playing the outfield, the Astros moved him back to second base in 2005. He retired after the 2007 season.
2005 Topps Total #66 Eric Bruntlett
One of the Astros part time players in 2005, Bruntlett appeared in 91 games mostly as a pitch hitter or late game replacement. He was traded to the Phillies after the 2007 series and got back to the World Series with them in 2008 and 2009. He retired after the 2009 season.
2005 Donruss Team Heroes #137 Chris Burke
Burke mostly played outfield and sometimes spelled Biggio at second. He hit .248 for the season. Chris was in the running to be the baseball coach at his alma mater University of Tennessee last year but didn't get the job.
2005 Flair Row 2 #29 Roger Clemens
Roger started 32 games for the Astros in 2005 with a record of 13-8 and an ERA of 1.87. He played again for the Astros in 2006 (after teasing them for months about whether or not he'd come back). He signed with the Yankees in 2007. He is currently trying to rebuild his reputation after being cleared of contempt of Congress charges from drug hearings.
This card is a 1/1 that I pulled from a blaster box.
2005 Topps Heritage #138 Morgan Ensberg
Ensberg had a career year in 2005, hitting .283 with 36 home runs, 101 rbis and an All-Star berth. He was a big part of why the Astros made it to the post season in 2005. He was never able to repeat anything like that in future years. He was traded to the Padres in 2007 and then bounced around from there to the Yankees, the Indians and Rays, who released him before spring training in 2009.
2005 Topps #242 Adam Everett
Everett was a first round draft pick of the Red Sox in 1998, who never really lived up to his potential. He'd been with the Astros since 2001. He was a free agent after the 2007 season and played for the Twins, Tigers and Indians. He was released by the Indians in June last year. He's currently working in the Indians front office.
2005 Topps Cracker Jack #133 Phil Garner
Scrap Iron managed the Astros from 2004 to 2007. He led the Astros to an 89-73 record and a wild card spot in the playoffs only to lose 4 straight to the White Sox in the World Series. The Astros were 82 and 80 in 2006, missing the wild card spot by several games. The Astros replaced him in late 2007 with Cecil Cooper. They had a 58-73 record under Garner. He's currently a Special Adviser to the A's.
2005 Fleer Tradition #266 Mike Lamb
Mike mainly played first base for ailing Jeff Bagwell in 2005. A .236 average and 12 home runs were not exactly Bagwellian. He was a free agent after the 2007 season and is currently playing for the Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees.
2005 Studio #133 Jason Lane
Jason, in his 4th year with the Astros was a pretty popular player in town. He also had a career year, hitting .267 with 26 home runs and playing in 145 games. He was traded to the Padres in 2007 and has been with 6 other teams since then but has not played in the majors since 2007. He last signed a major league contract with the D-Backs and made one spring training appearance in 2011 as a pitcher. He later signed with the Sugar Land Skeeters, a non-aligned minor league team playing in the Houston area.
2005 Zenith Brad Lidge
Lidge had an "up" year in 2005. He was third in saves with 42 and an ERA of 2.29. Lidge has had 2 great years in his career, 2005 and 2008 when he helped the Phillies win the World Series. He signed with the Nationals for 2012 but was released in June.
2005 Reflections #35 Roy Oswalt
Roy O was a 20 game winner for the Astros in 2005 after winning 20 games in 2004. He won 3 games in the playoffs and was the NLCS MVP. The Astros traded him to the Phillies in 2010 where he went 7-1 and helped the Phillies into post season play again. In recent years he has suffered from injuries. The Phillies did not sign him after the 2011 season. He recently signed with the Rangers. After going 4-2, the Rangers have apparently assigned him to the bullpen.
2005 Ultimate Collection #8 Andy Pettitte
Andy was 17-9 in his second of 3 years with the Astros. He was another big factor in the Astros reaching the World Series. He went back to the Yankees in 2007. After retiring after the 2010 season, he's back with the Yankees in 2012.
2005 Topps Update #83 Willie Taveras
Willie had a cup of coffee with the Astros in 2004 but played a full season in 2005. He hit .291, scored 82 runs and had 34 steals. He was runner-up to Ryan Howard for Rookie of the Year. The Astros traded him to the Rockies in December 2006 for pitcher Jason Jennings, who was a total bust for the Astros in 2007. Taveras stole 68 bases for the Rockies in 2008. Willie seems to have burned out early and hasn't played in the majors since 2010.
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