Craig Biggio

The Houston Astros are just five years removed from their lone World Series berth.

From their inception in 1962 as the Houston Colt .45’s, the Astros have achieved little in terms of establishing an identity as a storied franchise. Whether to due with lack of superstar power or rare postseason success, the Astros have at times been a team on the cusp of success only to falter the following year.

Every spring, there are a handful of questions that each team faces and must resolve before the start of the regular season.

Often these questions revolve around how to set the lineup and many times start with who will be the team's leadoff hitter.

For the teams that had the 10 guys that follow on this list, that was never an issue, as you could pencil them in atop the lineup and count on them to be a catalyst for your team.

I have chosen who i feel are the top 10 leadoff hitters in baseball history.

Like Rome, a good baseball team can't be built in a day, but -- with the right trade -- the process can be reduced significantly with the right trade.

Let's not kid ourselves: we know what the best trade in Houston Astros history is. Despite that, there are four other deals that helped shape the franchise which deserve our consideration.

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Cameron Drew. Robbie Wine. Tommy Nevers.

Don't remember them? That's fine. The Houston Astros thank you for not reminding them of three of the biggest draft misses in franchise history.

Not all of the Astros' picks have been flops. Houston has delivered its fair share of All-Star talent on draft day, including a future Hall of Famer, one of the most dominant pitchers of the last 40 years and two players who were among the premier standouts of the past decade.

So sit down and enjoy as we count down the ten best draft picks in Houston Astros history.

One question, hundreds of answers: Which Astro had the greatest offensive season at his position?

Major League baseball has been asking fans this same question in an effort to choose each team's best-ever collection of stars.

They are calling it MLB 9s.

Scroll down to find out why Lance Berkman doesn't make the cut, why Dickie Thon should be remembered as a Hall-of-Famer whose career got cut short, and why Craig Biggio was so much more than just "Mr. Hit By Pitch".

Number four in my Best of...from 1980-Present, second base was another tough one.

While the top four guys are on this list, without question, it gets tough after that, and where to rank numbers one-four was also tough.

As always I look forward to your hearing your take on my list, so let's get started with number 10...