Editing Houston Astros (section)

===1991–1999: Fine tuning and first rebranding===
The early 1990s were marked by the Astros' growing discontent with their home, the Astrodome.  After the Astrodome was renovated for the primary benefit of the [[National Football League|NFL]]'s [[Houston Oilers]] (who shared the Astrodome with the Astros since the 1960s), the Astros began to grow increasingly disenchanted with the facility. Faced with declining attendance at the Astrodome and the inability of management to obtain a new stadium, in the {{baseball year|1991}} off-season Astros management announced its intention to sell the team and move the franchise to the Washington, D.C. area. However, the move was not approved by other National League owners, thus compelling the Astros to remain in Houston. Shortly thereafter, McMullen (who also owned the [[National Hockey League|NHL]]'s [[New Jersey Devils]]) sold the team to Texas businessman [[Drayton McLane, Jr.|Drayton McLane]] in 1993, who committed to keeping the team in Houston.

Shortly after McLane's arrival, which coincided with the maturation of Bagwell and Biggio, the Astros began to show signs of consistent success. After finishing second in their division in 1994 (in a [[1994–95 Major League Baseball strike|strike year]]), 1995, and 1996, the Astros won consecutive division titles in 1997, 1998, and 1999. In the 1998 season, the Astros set a team record with 102 victories. However, each of these titles was followed by a first-round playoff elimination, in [[1998 National League Division Series|1998]] by the [[San Diego Padres]] and in [[1997 National League Division Series|1997]] and [[1999 National League Division Series|1999]] against the [[Atlanta Braves]]. The manager of these title teams was [[Larry Dierker]], who had previously been a broadcaster and pitcher for the Astros. During this period, Bagwell, Biggio, [[Derek Bell (baseball)|Derek Bell]], and Sean Berry earned the collective nickname "[[Killer B's (Houston Astros)|The Killer Bs]]". In later seasons, the name came to include other Astros, especially [[Lance Berkman]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=4551|title= Prospectus Notebook: Astros, Blue Jays|author= Haller, Dave|date= October 20, 2005|work= [[Baseball Prospectus]]|access-date= March 8, 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131009060644/http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=4551|archive-date= October 9, 2013|url-status= live}}</ref>

Coinciding with the change in ownership, the team switched uniforms and team colors after the {{baseball year|1993}} season in order to go for a new, more serious image. The team's trademark rainbow uniforms were retired, and the team's colors changed to midnight blue and metallic gold. The "Astros" font on the team logo was changed to a more aggressive one, and the team's traditional star logo was changed to a stylized, "flying" star with an open left end. It marked the first time since the team's inception that orange was not part of the team's colors. Despite general agreement that the rainbow uniforms identified with the team had become tired (and looked too much like a minor league team according to the new owners), the new uniforms and caps were never especially popular with many Astros fans.
[[File:Astros clinch playoff berth!.jpg|thumb|300px|Final Astros regular season game in the Astrodome on October 3, 1999]]
Off the field, in 1994, the Astros hired one of the first [[African American]] general managers, former franchise player [[Bob Watson]]. Watson would leave the Astros after the 1995 season to become general manager of the [[New York Yankees]] and helped to lead the Yankees to a World Series championship in [[1996 World Series|1996]]. He would be replaced by [[Gerry Hunsicker]], who until 2004 would continue to oversee the building of the Astros into one of the better and most consistent organizations in the Major Leagues.

However, in 1996, the Astros again nearly left Houston. By the mid-1990s, McLane (like McMullen before him) wanted his team out of the Astrodome and was asking the city to build the Astros a new stadium.  When things did not progress quickly toward that end, he put the team up for sale. He had nearly finalized a deal to sell the team to businessman William Collins, who planned to move them to [[Northern Virginia]]. However, Collins was having difficulty finding a site for a stadium himself, so Major League owners stepped in and forced McLane to give Houston another chance to grant his stadium wish.  Houston voters, having already lost the [[Houston Oilers]] in a similar situation, responded positively via a stadium referendum and the Astros stayed put.