Though Richard Justice has left the happy hunting ground of the Houston Chronicle for greener pastures at MLB.com, he hasn't forgotten his old gig. He's got a column up today about former Astros owner Drayton McLane, extolling the virtues of that fixture in Houston baseball for their most successful run in franchise history.
↵McLane caught a lot of flak over the years for much of what Justice brings up here. He was very hands-on and that rubbed some GMs the wrong way. He took over negotiations with Carlos Beltran and with Carlos Lee, to varying degrees of effectiveness.
↵But, I don't he deserves any long-term antipathy from fans. McLane was easily the best owner in Houston baseball history and did a service to all Astros fans by keeping Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio around for their entire careers.
↵He was also a decent human being, another thing Justice does a great job of chronicling. To most fans, that's not an important requirement for the man in charge, but it should be. All that matters in a legacy is usually winning and losing. Drayton will be remembered for his insistence on winning and how that insistence impeded winning late in his term.
↵New owner Jim Crane has some big shoes to fill on both counts. If he wins, people won't care how he handles things behind the scenes, but I hope he can leave a similar legacy to McLane behind the scenes as well.
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