Comments (0) Best Astro - 2002
Outfielder Daryle Ward
Readers' Choice: Lance Berkman
Daryle Ward's 2002 season wasn't the breakout year everyone was hoping for, but his struggles exemplified the twin strands of frustration and elation that bind every Astros fan. God obviously didn't intend for the chunky Ward to be an outfielder, or He would have given him more willpower. Still, Ward stomps around the miniature patch of left field at Minute Maid Park as well as can be expected. He shows terrific power at the plate -- in stretches. When he's in the middle of one of those dynamite stretches, he's an absolute ball to watch. When he's not, you find yourself wishing he'd get hot just so the team could trade him to the American League, where he could be the DH he is so patently meant to be. Ward keeps plugging away, though, and all that potential makes him emblematic of our ever-struggling 'Stros.
