Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Happy Birthday - 4/17

SS Jed Lowrie (28)
A first round draft pick by Boston in 2005, Lowrie came to Houston, along with Kyle Weiland, in a trade for Mark Melancon in December of 2011.  In 256 games for Boston over 4 seasons, he hit .252/.324/.408.  In his first three games for Houston after coming off the DL, he hit .250/.438/.250.

One former Astro with a birthday today ~

UT Denny Walling (58)
Walling was a first round pick by Oakland in 1975 and came to Houston in a trade in June of 1977 where he became a fixture until traded to the Cardinals in August of 1988 for Bob Forsch.  Denny Walling was the quintessential utility player, moving among first base, third base, the outfield and a pinch-hitting role with ease and effectiveness.  In 13 years for Houston, he hit .277/.345/.402 in 1072 games.  One of his career highlights was hitting the game-winning homerun in the division-clinching no-hitter pitched by Mike Scott in September 1986.  Most recently, Walling has been a roving hitting instructor in the Orioles organization, but he will take over as hitting coach in their AAA Norfolk affiliate in the 2012 season.

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