HOUSTON — Former Houston Astros’ slugger Lance Berkman will be inducted into the Houston Sports Hall of Fame. The announcement came Thursday from the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority.
Nicknamed ‘The Big Puma,’ Berkman – who is a Waco native – is a huge name in Houston sports. He played college ball at Rice, leading to Owls to their first College World Series in 1997. He was drafted by the Astros, where he played for 12 seasons, hitting .296 with 326 home runs and 1,090 runs batted in.
Along with Hall of Famers Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell, Berkman was one of the “Killer B's” in the Astros lineup from the 1990s into the 2000s.
"To be included with other great athletes who have competed here in the city of Houston, you can't really put words to it," Berkman said. "It's certainly a great honor to me and getting to be in there with a couple of my former teammates is just the icing on the cake."
After his years in Houston, Berkman went on to play for the Yankees, Cardinals and Rangers.
"Lance Berkman's legendary impact made him a perfect addition to the 2024 class," Daniel Gotera with the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority said. "A proven clutch hitter, Lance was an integral part of the Astros playoff runs in the early 2000s and their first World Series team in 2005. ‘The Big Puma’ was one of the best to ever wear that uniform.”
Berkman, a six-time All-Star, officially retired as a member of the Astros on April 5, 2014. He's currently the head baseball coach at Houston Christian University
Last month, the Harris County Sports Authority announced that former Comets' star Cynthia Cooper was selected into the Houston Sports Hall of Fame. The organization will announce a third and final candidate at some point in the future.
