Let’s be honest for a moment: The Astros had an issue with retiring numbers throughout their history. I’m not going to debate the merits behind why the numbers were retired, but some were obvious while others were less apparent. But the last number retired by Houston was No. 7 in 2008, which was Craig Biggio‘s primary number during his Hall of Fame career. Current ownership led by Jim Crane hasn’t retired a number since he purchased the club earlier this decade.
That said, it was becoming increasingly apparent the Astros would implement their own Hall of Fame or something similar in the future.