Happy Birthday - 2/5

Happy Birthday to ~

RHP Raul Rivera (23)
Drafted in the 37th round in 2009 out of high school in Puerto Rico, Rivera had an excellent season out of the bullpen for the GCL Astros and then the Greeneville Astros in the Appy League. In 21 appearances, he had a 2.48 ERA and a 1.102 WHIP. He struck out 30 while walking only five in 32+ innings.

LHP Colton Cain (23)
An eighth round draft pick by the Pirates in 2009, Cain came to Houston in the July 2012 Wandy Rodriguez trade. After a rough April, Cain settled in nicely to put up a 3.88 ERA and a 1.401 WHIP between Quad Cities and Lancaster. Throw out his April numbers and he had a 2.78 ERA and a 1.247 WHIP the rest of the way.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

OF Norm Miller (68)
Drafted by Houston from the Angels in the 1964 first-year draft, Norm Miller didn't exactly put up Hall of Fame numbers in his nine seasons (1965-1973) for Houston with a .240/.322/.355 batting line, but the converted second baseman (some guy named Joe Morgan had that job) does have some interesting stories to tell about his life in baseball.  His 2009 book To All My Fans From Norm Who? is more of a collection of anecdotes than a real memoir, but for any Astros fan, those anecdotes constitute a nice glimpse of the early days of the Astros organization.

OF Lee Thomas (78)
Thomas came to Houston in a February 1968 trade and played in 90 games for the Astros toward the end of his career, hitting .194/.249/.229. His best season was his All-Star year in 1962 when he played for the Angels. Thomas was the GM of the Phillies from 1988 to 1997 and was followed by some guy named Ed Wade.

Also, Happy Birthday to the naming inspiration for my blog, former Astros Scouting Director Bobby Heck.