Happy Birthday - 6/28

No future Astros, but several former Astros with birthdays today ~

LHP Joe Sambito (61)
A 17th round draft pick by Houston in 1973, Sambito was a fixture in the Houston bullpen from 1976 until an arm injury sidelined his career in 1982. He pitched for Houston again in 1984 after his recovery but was released in April of 1985. In 353 games for Houston over eight seasons, Sambito had a 2.42 ERA and a 1.112 WHIP. In his All-Star season of 1979, he sported a 1.71 ERA in 91.1 innings ... not bad at all.

OF Richard Hidalgo (38)
Hidalgo was signed by the Astros as a non-drafted free agent out of his native Venezuela in 1991 and made his Astros debut six years later. In 813 games for Houston from 1997 to 2004, Hidalgo hit .278/.356/.501 with his best season being 2000 when he hit .314/.391/.636 with 42 doubles, three triples, 44 home runs, 122 RBIs and 118 runs scored. Who let the dogs out, indeed.

RHP Fred Gladding (78)
Gladding came to Houston in a November 1967 trade with Detroit for Eddie Matthews and spent the next six years (and remainder of his career) pitching out of the bullpen for the Astros. From 1968 to 1973, Gladding was 22-23 with a 3.68 ERA and a 1.417 WHIP. He led the National League in saves in 1969 with 29.

LF Greg Sims (67)
Picked up in the Rule 5 draft in November of 1965, Sims appeared in seven games for the Astros which also happened to be the entirety of his major league career. Unlike some, Sims can say he did get that one hit in the majors.