Astros’ 2025: In Memoriam

Chip Bailey, the Founder of the Feast around here, texted me a list from Jim Axelrad on Facebook of former Colt .45/Astro players who passed away in 2025.

I recognized about half the names on here, but thought it would be nice to do a little write-up for each player.  

Jim Clancy 69 years old. In fifteen seasons in the big leagues, the right-handed starter went 140-167 with a 4.23 ERA, making one All-Star team. He signed with the Astros as a free agent before the 1989 season and was bad for two and a half seasons (9-25, 5.02 ERA) before being traded to the Braves to finish off his career.

Jim Dickson 87. A right-hand reliever, he was drafted by the Colt .45’s out of the Pirates organization in something called the minor league draft. In 13 games in the 1963 season, he was 0-1 with 2 saves and a 6.14 ERA. He was then traded to the Reds, bringing Eddie Kasko in return. After a season with the Reds and two with the Royals, he was out of baseball.

Octavio Dotel 51. He was part of some tough back-end bullpens, pitching with Brad Lidge and/or Billy Wagner in a number of seasons. He pitched 15 seasons in the bigs, including five good years with the Astros, going 22-24 with 42 saves and a 3.25 ERA. The Astros got him in a 1999 off-season trade from the Mets with other players in exchange for Mike Hampton and Derek Bell. In 2004 he was part of a 3-way trade going to Oakland in a trade that brought Carlos Beltran from the Royals.

Dotel tragically died in a nightclub roof collapse that took 221 lives in the Dominican Republic last April.

Tommy Helms 83. Helms was a solid middle infielder for 14 seasons in the big leagues. But he will always be remembered in Houston as being part of the return that sent future Hall of Famer Joe Morgan to the Reds in an eight-player transaction. In four seasons with the Astros, he slashed .269 BA/ .306 OBP/ .654 OPS with 14 HRs and 185 RBIs. He was traded by the Astros to the Pirates before the 1976 season for a player to be named later, who turned out to be a seven-season player and future manager, Art Howe.

Steve Hertz 80. If you never heard of Hertz, it is no small wonder. He had four hitless at bats (he did score 2 runs) in 1964 at the age of 19 with the Colt .45’s. This was his only appearance in the majors. Hertz, who was Jewish went on to manage the Tel Aviv Lightning in the lone season (2007) of the Israel Baseball League. He also managed both high school and community college ball in the Miami area.

Rob Mallicoat 60. The lefthander was the 16^th player drafted in the 1984 January secondary draft by the Astros in 1984. The secondary draft was about 5 months before the regular draft and included players who had been previously drafted but not signed. Mallicoat pitched in 51 games over 3 seasons with the Astros, finishing his MLB career with a 0-2 record with 1 save and a 5.70 ERA. His only save was a three-inning finish to a Mark Portugal win.

Felix Mantilla 90. Mantilla was an 11-year MLB utility man who played with the Milwaukee Braves, Mets, and Red Sox before ending his career with the Astros. He came to the Astros from the Red Sox in a trade for Eddie Kasko (again) before the 1966 season. In his only season with Houston, he slashed .219 BA/ .279 OBP/ .650 OPS with 6 HR and 22 RBIs. (Note his last two seasons with Boston before the trade, he had 30 HR and 64 RBIs, and 18 HRs and 92 RBIs, making the All-Star team in 1965). He must have missed the closeup Green Monster when he played in the Death Valley that was the Astrodome.  He played in 2 World Series with the Braves (1957 and 1958) and won a ring in the first one, though he was hitless in 10 ABs in both WS’s.

Randy Moffitt 76. In 12 seasons in the majors (mostly with the Giants) the righty reliever put up a 43-52 record with 96 saves and a 3.65 ERA. He signed with the Astros as a free agent before the 1982 season and was released after it, and finished his career with the Blue Jays. In his one season with the Astro,s he was 2-4 with 3 saves and a 3.02 ERA. On a side note, he was the younger brother of someone with an Astrodome connection – tennis star Billie Jean King, who beat chauvinist Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes in the Dome in 1973.

Billy Smith 70. After being drafted by the Astros in the 14^th round of 1977 draft, Smith made his only appearances in the majors in 1981. In 10 games the righty went 1-1 with 1 save and a 3.05 ERA (doesn’t sound too bad). He pitched poorly at AAA in 1982 and, after two seasons in the Mexican League, was out of organized baseball. In another Houston connection he faced one hitter in the 1981 NLDS, future Astros manager Dusty Baker and got him out on a groundout.

Ron Taylor 87. Righty Taylor spent 11 seasons in the MLB pitching for 5 teams. His overall record was 45-53 with 74 saves and a 3.93 ERA. He came to the Astros in a mid-season 1965 trade with the Cardinals along with Mike Cuellar, who would be most famous for his great seasons with the Orioles after the Astros traded him away. Taylor pitched poorly for the Astros in 1-1/2 seasons with a 3-8 record, 4 saves and a 6.03 ERA. He was purchased by the Mets after the 1966 season, where he suddenly remembered how to pitch, going 21-21 with 50 saves and a 3.04 ERA in 4 seasons.

Taylor was inspired by a USO-sponsored visit to field hospitals in Vietnam and went back to school after his career and became a physician. A Canadian, he served as the Blue Jays team doctor for over 3 decades.

Carl Warwick 88. The native Texan and outfielder spent 6 seasons in the majors with 5 different teams. In May of the Colt .45’s inaugural season, he was traded by the Cardinals for Bobby Shantz, who had a month earlier won the Colt .45’s first game ever. In two seasons with the Colt .45s, he slashed .257 BA/ .315 OBP/ .689 OPS with 23 HRs and 107 RBIs. He was then traded back to the Cards before the 1964 season for Jim Beauchamp and Chuck Taylor. With the Cards, he was an integral part of their 1964 WS win over the Yankees, as he had 3 hits and a walk in five pinch-hitting appearances. After his career, he spent many years in Houston working in real estate and travel.

Mike White 86. The infielder/outfielder spent 3 seasons with the Colt .45s/ Astros, but the majority of his ABs were in the 1964 season. He was chosen in the minor league draft from the Angels in 1961. He then slashed .264 BA/ .311 OBP/ .632 OPS with 0 HRs and 27 RBIs in 296 ABs. He was then traded back to the Angels after the 1965 season and never played in the majors again.

His father, Jo-Jo White, played in the majors for 9 seasons and coached in the majors for 12 seasons.  

We honor these former Colt .45s/Astros, and our thoughts and prayers are with their families.