20 Most Popular Astros according to Perplexity.AI

I was inspired by Nate Silver's latest newsletter about the Hall of Fame and his use of ChatGPT to rank the popularity of the 2025 HoF candidates.

I used Perplexity.AI to generate a list of the 20 most popular Astros. I can't figure out how to past the nicely formatted table it generated, but you can view it as this link.

Below is the list and citations.

Thoughts?

I was particularly interested because of Billy Wagner. He was one of my favorites growing up. Silver's ChatGPT ranking had him as the #9 favorite Astros while my list has him at #13.

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Based on the provided search results and considering the criteria of popularity, fan appeal, and contributions to the franchise over the past 50 years, here is a ranked list of the 20 most popular Houston Astros players:

1. Jeff Bagwell

2. Craig Biggio

3. Jose Altuve

4. Nolan Ryan

5. Lance Berkman

6. Jose Cruz

7. Roy Oswalt

8. Carlos Correa

9. Cesar Cedeno

10. Mike Scott

11. Jimmy Wynn

12. J.R. Richard

13. Billy Wagner

14. Alex Bregman

15. Larry Dierker

16. George Springer

17. Ken Caminiti

18. Brad Ausmus

19. Joe Niekro

20. Moises Alou

You may reference the table provided in the search results for more details on many of these players' contributions and associations with the franchise.

This ranking takes into account not only statistical achievements but also the players' impact on fans, their role in memorable moments, and their overall representation of the Astros franchise. The top players like Bagwell, Biggio, and Altuve are consistently mentioned as franchise icons across multiple sources. The list also includes more recent stars like Correa and Springer who were instrumental in the team's recent success and World Series victories.

Citations:

[1] https://clutchpoints.com/10-greatest-astros-players-all-time-ranked

[2] https://www.mlb.com/astros/team/jobs/our-history

[3] https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1017547-houston-astros

[4] https://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/the_24_best_players_in_houston_astros_history/s1__38686711

[5] https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-50-greatest-players-in-houston-astros-history-robert-w-cohen/1143017747

[6] https://futurestudent.charlestonsouthern.edu/midnightsnacks/astros-team-a-closer-look-at-the-iconic-baseball-franchise.html

[7] https://www.reddit.com/r/Astros/comments/1awhm90/upcoming_book_ranks_greatest_players_in_houston/

[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_nicknames

[9] https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Jeff_Bagwell

[10] https://www.si.com/mlb/astros/news/jeff-bagwell-adds-new-title-to-role-houston-astros

[11] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Biggio

[12] https://www.mlb.com/news/best-nicknames-in-baseball

[13] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jose_Altuve

[14] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lance_Berkman

[15] https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/lance-berkman/

[16] https://www.mlb.com/astros/history/hall-of-fame/inductees/lance-berkman

[17] https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/evilwontwin/all-time-astros-nicknames-t1069.html

[18] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Oswalt

[19] https://www.mlb.com/astros/news/roy-oswalt-lance-berkman-officially-retire-as-astros/c-71082444

[20] https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/cesar-cedeno/

[21] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A9sar_Cede%C3%B1o

[22] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Cesar_Cedeno_-_Houston_Astros.jpg?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiKioGzx-SKAxX1l4kEHQhpNgMQ_B16BAgFEAI

[23] https://www.mlb.com/astros/history/hall-of-fame/inductees/jose-cruz

[24] https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28960200/ex-astros-slugger-jimmy-wynn-nicknamed-toy-cannon-dies-78

[25] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Wynn

[26] https://baseballhall.org/discover/card-corner/1988-topps-joe-niekro

[27] https://hilltoppersports.com/news/2019/8/6/baseball-niekro-inducted-into-astros-hall-of-fame.aspx

[28] https://www.notinhalloffame.com/baseball/top-50-baseball-players-by-franchise/top-50-houston-astros/7371-8-mike-scott

[29] https://www.mlb.com/astros/history/hall-of-fame/inductees/mike-scott

[30] https://www.milb.com/player/billy-wagner-123790

[31] https://www.mlb.com/astros/history/hall-of-fame/inductees/billy-wagner

[32] https://www.ferrum.edu/news/houston-astros-induct-ferrum-alumnus-billy-wagner-into-sports-hall-of-fame/

[33] https://www.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/carlos-correa-still-a-fan-favorite-in-houston-just-dont-ask-the-astros

[34] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Correa

[35] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Dierker

[36] https://www.tshof.org/store/p81/Larry_Dierker.html

[37] https://lastwordonsports.com/baseball/2024/03/19/astros-hall-of-fame-larry-dierker/

[38] https://www.mlb.com/news/25-best-baseball-nicknames-in-history-c249924830

[39] https://www.mlb.com/astros/history/hall-of-fame/inductees/nolan-ryan

[40] https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1956744-nolan-ryan-will-rejoin-astros-in-advisory-role

[41] https://www.chron.com/sports/astros/article/Ken-Caminiti-book-PlayingThrough-Pain-new-details-17196117.php

[42] https://www.chron.com/sports/astros/article/ken-caminiti-honored-highlights-19662291.php

[43] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Caminiti

[44] https://www.astrosdaily.com/players/Ausmus_Brad.html

[45] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Ausmus

[46] https://www.chron.com/sports/astros/article/astros-brad-ausmus-yankees-18509622.php

[47] https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1429356-astros-greatest-all-time-roster-at-each-position

[48] https://www.milb.com/player/dickie-thon-123309

[49] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dickie_Thon

[50] https://www.si.com/mlb/astros-fans-gesture-justin-verlander-rough-outing-pure-class

[51] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Verlander

[52] https://www.247footballnow.com/2025/01/03/official-astros-news-houston-astros-re-sign-fans-favorite-superstar-alex-bregman-following-juan-sotos-blockbuster-trade/

[53] https://lsusports.net/news/2024/11/04/alex-bregman-wins-2024-american-league-gold-glove-award/

[54] https://www.mlb.com/news/alex-bregman-gets-standing-ovation-in-final-astros-2024-home-game

[55] https://letslearnslang.com/nicknames-for-moises/

[56] https://climbingtalshill.com/2020/05/02/houston-astros-moises-alou-underappreciated-2000-season/