When the Phillies and Astros face off Friday night, there won’t be many people who are unsure of their allegiances. But for this group of ballplayers who suited up in both Phillies red (or perhaps maroon depending on the time period) and Astros blue-and-orange, they may have a harder time figuring out who to root for.
A few notes about how we filled out our lineup card: We tried our best to pick players who made a significant impact on both teams. It wasn’t always perfect — the Astros probably wish they kept Bobby Abreu out of the 1997 expansion Draft — but explains why someone like Jim Deshaies, who pitched 1,102 innings for the Astros but only 5 1/3 for the Phillies, wasn’t even considered. After that, it came down to personal taste — sorry if you’re the world’s biggest Brian Bogusevic fan, but he unfortunately failed to make the cut.
HOU: 2001-10, 143-82, 3.24 ERA, 1932 1/3 IP, 1593 K, 446 BB
PHI: 2010-11, 16-11, 2.96 ERA, 221 2/3 IP, 166 K, 54 BB
With apologies to the great Robin Roberts, we’ll give the edge to Oswalt, who helped lead the Astros to their first World Series appearance in franchise history — collecting the 2005 NLCS MVP Award along the way — before being traded to Philadelphia to help complete Philadelphia’s trio of aces alongside Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels.
One other reason for including Oswalt is the amazing present he received for that NLCS MVP Award: A tractor promised to him by then-owner Drayton McLane.
HOU: 1995-2003, 26-29, 2.53 ERA, 225 SV, 504 1/3 IP, 694 K, 191 BB
PHI: 2004-05, 8-3, 1.86 ERA, 59 SV, 126 IP, 146 K, 26 BB
There is an abundance of pitching depth to choose from, making this decision one of the hardest. We could have picked Larry Andersen, Turk Farrell, or even Brad Lidge, but in the end Wagner’s miniscule ERA and sky-high strikeout totals make him our choice to close out games.
HOU: 1963-68, 1956 PA, .228/.274/.353, 45 HR, 212 RBI, 1 SB
PHI: 1972, 265 PA, .222/.246/.294, 3 HR, 17 RBI, 0 SB
The offensive numbers may not look great, but Bateman’s 17 HR season in 1966 set a single-season Astros record for most homers by a catcher that stood until Jason Castro broke it with 18 HR in 2013.
Only with the Phillies for half a season after being traded from the Expos in exchange for Tim McCarver, Bateman became the team’s starting catcher and Steve Carlton’s personal batterymate. Carlton — who won his first Cy Young that year — thought so highly of Bateman’s work behind the dish that he campaigned for the Phillies to re-sign the backstop. When that didn’t happen, Bateman retired before becoming a star on the softball circuit.
HOU: 1992, ’98, 396 PA, .260/.313/.419, 11 HR, 46 RBI, 2 SB
PHI: 1993-96, 967 PA, .250/.307/.481, 53 HR, 163 RBI, 4 SB
Though Incaviglia’s career never reached the heights that were expected of him when he was drafted in the 1st round and skipped the Minors entirely, he had arguably his best season as a member of the 1993 NL pennant-winning Phillies. That year, he tied for the team lead with 24 home runs and was second in RBIs with 89.
Incaviglia may not have done a lot in an Astros uni, but he did have two stints with the team, including the final 13 games of his big league career.
HOU: 1963-71, 1980, 4482 PA, .261/.374/.393, 72 HR, 327 RBI, 219 SB
PHI: 1983, 504 PA, .230/.370/.403, 16 HR, 59 RBI, 18 SB
Arguably the greatest second baseman in Major League history, Morgan made his big league debut with Houston, displaying the blend of power, speed, and an incredible batting eye that made him such a crucial member of the Big Red Machine. Brought back to Houston by Tal Smith for the 1980 season, Morgan was an important part of the club that lost to the Phillies in the NLCS.
Though he only played on the Phillies for one season near the end of his career, Morgan still nearly put together a 20/20 campaign and his batting line was good for a 116 OPS+. He helped the Phillies make it to the World Series, where they lost to the Orioles in 5 games.
HOU: 2007-08, 616 PA, .285/.347/.506, 29 HR, 76 RBI, 6 SB
PHI: 2012, 360 PA, .235/.314/.375, 11 HR, 43 RBI, 1 SB
No disrespect to Wigginton, who put together a solid cult hero’s career as a play-anywhere-in-the-infield utility player with plenty of pop, but there aren’t many options for third base who had significant time on each team. Wigginton’s best years were arguably in Houston, where he posted the highest OPS out of the eight clubs he played for.
His very best performance came nowhere near the field: In the offseason ahead of the 2007 season, Wigginton delivered his son while his wife lay in the closet of their house — getting step-by-step instruction from 9-1-1 over the phone.
“I think adrenaline took over. It’s kind of all a blur,” Wigginton said. “It was unbelievable.”
HOU: 1981-87, 2013 PA, .270/.329/.395, 33 HR, 172 RBI, 94 SB
PHI: 1989-91, 1637 PA, .259/.302/.374, 32 HR, 152 RBI, 29 SB
It’s pretty remarkable that Thon was able to have such a long and successful career considering how long he played with reduced depth perception. Thon was one of the game’s brightest young stars, leading the league with 10 triples in 1982 and smashing 20 home runs with 34 steals for the Astros in ’83. Unfortunately, Thon was hit in the head by a fastball in just the fifth game of the 1984 season, and it would forever change his future.
After missing the rest of the ’84 season, Thon had to alter his stance to make up for the change in his eyesight. He may not have continued on his superstar trajectory, but playing until 1993 despite having 20/40 vision in his left eye is plenty remarkable enough on its own. Jay Jaffe, who founded the JAWS system for evaluating Hall of Fame candidates, gave him a 51 percent chance of reaching the Hall of Fame without the injury.
HOU: 1996-97, 234 PA, .248/.325/.362, 3 HR, 27 RBI, 7 SB
PHI: 1998-06, 5885 PA, .303/.416/.513, 195 HR, 814 RBI, 254 SB
If the Astros could do it again, they probably wouldn’t leave Abreu available in the 1997 expansion Draft where the then-Devil Rays snatched him with the sixth pick. The Phillies then sent Kevin Stocker to Tampa Bay for Abreu, who went on to be one of the best power-speed threats in the Majors with seven 20/20 seasons for Philly (one of which was a 30/30 campaign, and another was a 30/40 season). A borderline Hall of Famer — Phillies beat writer Todd Zolecki believes he should be in — Abreu earned 8.6 percent of the vote in last year’s balloting.
PHI: 2006-07, 144 PA, .268/.340/.362, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 19 SB
HOU: 2008-11, 2270 PA, .271/.337/.359, 11 HR, 134 RBI, 193 SB
Bourn may not have played much with the Phillies but his importance to the team can’t be overstated: He was traded to the Astros before the 2008 season in exchange for closer Brad Lidge.
While with Houston, Bourn showed off some serious wheels. He led the National League in stolen bases in each season from 2009-11, and his 193 SB with the team are good for 8th in team history despite playing just 541 games in an Astros uniform.
HOU: 2007-2011, 2863 PA, .290/.339/.479, 103 HR, 377 RBI, 61 SB
PHI: 2011-12, 676 PA, .289/.357/.486, 28 HR, 94 RBI, 5 SB
Armed with a swing that baseball writer Grant Brisbee described as “like his elbows are stapled to his knees and his underwear is pulled above his head,” Pence went on to become a solid, middle-of-the-lineup hitter for every team he played for. A fan favorite for his unique playing style, sense of humor and tongue that couldn’t stay in his mouth while attempting to make a catch, Pence is now back in Houston as the owner of the board game cafe, Coral Sword.
HOU: 1973-76, ’89, 1866 PA, .293/.376/.351, 0 HR, 109 RBI, 18 SB
PHI: 1979-88, 1819 PA, .279/.374/.335, 1 HR, 128 RBI, 18 SB
You won’t find any players like Gross in today’s game. The outfielder and pinch-hitter extraordinaire finished second to Bake McBride in the 1974 Rookie of the Year voting as a member of the Astros, but despite his solid swing he had almost no power — hitting zero home runs as a member of the Astros and only one with the Phillies. However, teams could always count on him off the bench. He holds the record for most walks drawn as a pinch-hitter and ranks fifth all-time in pinch hits.