Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Happy Birthday - 4/2

No future Astros, only former Astros with birthdays today ~

RHP Don Sutton (69)
The Hall of Famer was originally signed by the Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1964 and came to Houston as a free agent prior to the 1981 season. During two seasons with the Astros, Sutton went 24-17 in 50 starts with a 2.82 ERA and a 1.063 WHIP before being traded to Milwaukee in August of 1982 for Kevin Bass, Frank DiPino and Mike Madden. There are too many superlatives associated with Sutton's terrific career to summarize them all here so read this for some of the highlights.

LF Pete Incaviglia (50)
Incaviglia was drafted in the first round by the Expos in 1985, but was traded to the Rangers that fall when he insisted on spending no time in the minor leagues (the trade led to a one-year rule for keeping drafted players). Despite Incaviglia's decent but less than stellar numbers in the majors (career .246/.310/.448), he was considered to be one of the best, if not the best, college hitters of all time. For more on that story, click here. He played in 113 games for Houston in 1992 and in 13 games at the end of his career in 1998. He did eventually play in 120 games in the minor leagues, but not until 1997 forward. He has been managing independent league ball since 2008.

RHP Gordon Jones (died April 25, 1994 at 64)
Jones was first signed by the Cardinals in 1949 but didn't make it to the big leagues until 1954 thanks to a 3-year detour to the Korean War. Jones pitched for Houston in 1964 and 1965 at the end of his career, going 0-1 in 35 games with a 4.06 ERA and a 1.412 WHIP.

LHP Mike Gallo (37)
Drafted by the Astros in the 5th round in 1999, Gallo pitched for Houston from 2003 to 2006. In 160 games, he was 4-3 with a 4.11 ERA and a 1.517 WHIP.

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