Happy Birthday - 4/21

Happy Birthday to ~

LF Alexander Melendez (19)
Melendez was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Puerto Rico prior to the 2013 season. In 36 games with the Dominican Summer League Astros in 2013, he hit .248/.315/.310.

Three former Astros mark the day as well ~

3B Ken Caminiti (died October 10, 2004 at 41)
Caminiti was originally drafted by Houston in the 3rd round in 1984 and played 10 of his 15 major league seasons for Houston from 1987 to 1994 and in 1999 and 2000. He was a three-time All Star (once for Houston), a three-time Gold Glove winner, a Silver Slugger winner and he was the National League MVP for San Diego in 1996.

There's no way to talk about Caminiti without talking about the demons that destroyed him. Buster Olney captures Caminiti's essence beautifully in this piece from 2005 and Richard Justice describes the touching story of Biggio's gesture of friendship in a 2007 article.

From Olney's article ~

At Caminiti's memorial service in Houston last fall, Craig Reynolds, who played with Caminiti in Houston, stood and spoke directly to his friend's three girls: "You're going to hear some really, really good things about your Dad here today. And later, after you leave, you're going to hear some bad things about your Dad, and when you do, remember that those people didn't know him the way everybody in this room did."

Those who knew Ken Caminiti counted themselves lucky to have known him, demons and all.

IF Jeff Keppinger (33)
Originally drafted by Pittsburgh in the 4th round in 2001, Keppinger came to Houston in a trade with Cincinnati for Drew Sutton in 2009. He spent 2+ seasons playing for Houston before being traded to San Francisco in 2011 for Henry Sosa and Jason Stoffel. In 287 games for Houston he hit .281/.336/.398. He is currently with the Chicago White Sox, but it appears that he is on the DL.

Jeff Keppinger 2010
Photo by Jayne Hansen

3B/1B Chris Donnels (48)

A first round pick by the Mets in 1987, Donnels came to Houston as a waiver claim in December 1992. In 161 games for Houston from 1993 to 1995, Donnels hit .264/.341/.393. He hit a respectable .274 as a pinch hitter for Houston, a role he frequently was called on to fill.