Climbing into Orbit

Baseball is a tough game for a man to break into. It's rougher still for a team. The New York Mets tried it in 1962--and produced a tenth-place comedy act. That same year the Houston Astros pranced onto the field (as the Colt .45s), and it looked like the same burlesque. They wound up eighth, ninth, ninth and ninth, just above the Amazin' Mets. But last week, with the season almost three months old, the Astros were the surprise of the National League, orbiting way up there in fourth place. Astronomical!

Cynics suggested that the Astros owed it all to the funhouse they call home. To be sure, Houston's two-year-old Astrodome is a chamber of horrors for rival ballplayers. Owner Roy Hofheinz's $31.6 million Xanadu has an outfield with the consistency of cobblestones; the infield is a bright green Chemstrand rug that ricochets grounders into the outfield like .30 cal. bullets.

Outfielders squint after flyballs among the maze of overhead girders. The Scoreboard's video screen, all 1,800 electronic sq. ft. of it, is a study in psychological warfare. When an opposing pitcher is lifted, the screen shows a sad little character immersed by the rising water in the shower stall. During rows with the umps, the sign razzes: OH MY, NO! "I'm waiting for a big box filled with cherry bombs, firecrackers--the works," snarls Chicago Cubs Manager Leo Durocher. "It's the answer to all that stuff they pull in the Astrodome. Houston is bush."

Well, not entirely, Leo. The dome may be an elaborate Bronx cheer for visitors, and it is true the Astros do considerably better at home (25 wins in 40 games v. 14 of 35 on the road this year). It is truer still that while the Mets set out to draw crowds with familiar--and fading--names, the Astros are starting to cash in on the richest crop of youthful talent in the majors.

Green Stealer. Many of them are still as green as their infield rug, but they have lots of time for growing. The team's average age is 23.8 years. All-Star Second Baseman Joe Morgan, 22, whom the Astros plucked three years ago from California's Oakland City College, was hitting .315 until last week, when a batting-practice liner crunched into his right kneecap, putting him out for three weeks. With Rookie Shortstop Sonny Jackson, 21, a .296 hitter who fields like a jackrabbit and steals bases on the side (24 this year), the Astros have one of the best doubleplay acts in the league.

Centerfielder Jim Wynn, 24, makes fans think of Willie Mays with his acrobatic catches, bats .248, about 30 points below his potential. Manager Grady Hatton has been quietly drawing sharp performances from Pitchers Dave Giusti (9 wins, 5 losses this year) and Mike Cuellar (6-0).

The Astros may not finish in the first division this season. Last week they dropped a four-game series to the Pittsburgh Pirates, knocking themselves back to fifth place. But the adolescents from Houston have grown up with speed, a measure of batting power, a major-league efficiency on the field and, particularly, a confidence in themselves. The high-powered San Francisco Giants have beaten them in 8 out of 12 games this year. But the Astros have beaten the world champion Los Angeles Dodgers in seven out of eleven games. Just wait till next year.

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