Bob Aspromonte/pagetext

From SABR Encyclopedia

Bob Aspromonte comes to the TBHOF as one of the best defensive 3rd basemen in modern history. Obtained by the Houston Colt .45’s from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the original October 10, 1961 expansion draft, “Aspro” immediately made his presence felt in Houston as a player for the winning NL club in an October 15, 1961 All-Star game played at Busch (Buff) Stadium on the Gulf Freeway.

One of many Major Leaguers produced by Brooklyn’s Lafayette High School (including his brother Ken and Sandy Koufax), Aspromonte debuted at age 18 with one time at bat for the 1956 Brooklyn Dodgers. At the time of his 1971 retirement, Bob left the game as the last active ex-Brooklyn Dodger. Aspromonte was a regular with the original Houston expansion team in 1962, and he remained with the club through 1968. He finished his 13-season MLB career (1956, 1960-1971) with the Braves and Mets.

Few have protected the 3rd base line better than Bob. In his 1st season with the original 1962 Colt .45’s, Aspro set an NL record for 3rd basemen with 57 consecutive errorless games. In 1964, he set NL records for fewest errors (11) and fielding percentage (.973) at 3rd base. Bob Aspromonte was also a clutch power hitter who pulled the Astros through to victory many times with key hits in the late innings, including 14 game-winners in 1965. In fact, he set the current franchise career record of 6 grand slams (Jeff Bagwell now shares it), and once held the club record for consecutive hits (7). Bob was also a smart hitter. In 1967, he adapted his hitting style to take advantage of all fields and posted his career high season average of .294.

He was inducted into the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005 ^[1]