In the 10th edition of our Astros Legends Series, we sit down with longtime manager Terry Collins—a man who began his managerial career with Houston and never once endured a losing season at the helm. From the heartbreak of the 1994 strike to the Hall of Fame careers he helped nurture, Collins shares candid memories of a team that was built to win.

We kick things off in August 1994, a season that felt destined for October glory. The Astros were soaring 17 games over .500, locked in a tight race with the Cincinnati Reds. But then the players' strike hit, and everything stopped. "The game before the strike, Bagwell broke his hand," Collins recalls. "So I'm not sure what would've happened down the road, but we really had a good team. Biggio, Finley, and Caminiti were all playing great. Our pitching was really starting to come around." He had just inserted Shane Reynolds into a rotation alongside Drabek, Swindell, and Harnisch. "We had turned the corner. The Expos had a good team too, but even our bench was strong. Bob Watson assembled a really strong roster for us."

When baseball resumed in 1995, Collins received a career-defining honor: an invitation to serve as an All-Star Game coach. "It really meant a lot," he says. "I had known Felipe Alou for a long time, and I think because of the season we were discussing, he phoned in recognition of that. Being named to that staff was huge—it was still really my first year."

Of course, no conversation about those Astros teams is complete without mentioning the two cornerstones who would go on to Cooperstown: Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell. Did Collins realize at the time he was watching future Hall of Famers? "Oh God, without question! Those are the kind of guys that don't need managers. They knew how to get ready with the same exact routines every day. I used to watch Biggio go out and do this ground ball routine, and he never missed doing that. When we went to St. Louis, you'd see Ozzie Smith doing the same thing. That's why greatness happens."