Happy Birthday - 9/25

No future Astros with birthdays today, but several former Astros celebrate the day ~

SS/3B Ray Busse (66)
Originally signed by Houston as a NDFA in 1967, Busse played in a total of 44 games for the Astros in 1971, 1973 and 1974, hitting .153/.209/.200.

RHP Mike Stanton (62)
Drafted by Houston in the first round in 1973, Stanton pitched in only seven games for the Astros in 1975 with a 7.27 ERA and a 2.308 WHIP. He went on to pitch for Cleveland, Seattle and the White Sox with a career 4.61 ERA and 1.509 WHIP.

RHP Ron Mathis (56)
Originally drafted by Detroit in the 30th round in 1980, Mathis came to Houston as a free agent in May of 1982. In 31 games for the Astros in 1985 and 1987, he was 3-6 with a 5.93 ERA and a 1.598 WHIP.

RHP David Weathers (45)
A third round draft pick by the Blue Jays in 1988, Weathers came to Houston as a part of the June 2004 trade with the Mets for Richard Hidalgo. He pitched in 26 games that season with a 1-4 record, a 4.78 ERA and a 1.375 WHIP. In all, Weathers spent 19 seasons in the major leagues playing for nine different teams. He won a World Series with the Yankees in 1996.

Happy Birthday - 9/25

Happy Birthday to ~

LHP Geronimo Franzua (20)
Yes, it is one of the cooler names in the Astros minor league system. Franzua, an NDFA from the Dominican Republic was with the DSL Astros for his third season. In 14 games (nine starts), he was 1-3 with a 4.42 ERA and a 1.578 WHIP. Franzua made a great deal of progress over his 2012 season. In 2012, he walked 31 batters in 13+ innings. In 2013, he still walked 31 batters, but did so over 38+ innings. Baby steps.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

SS/3B Ray Busse (65)
Originally signed by Houston as a NDFA in 1967, Busse played in a total of 44 games for the Astros in 1971, 1973 and 1974, hitting .153/.209/.200.

RHP Mike Stanton (61)
Drafted by Houston in the first round in 1973, Stanton pitched in only seven games for the Astros in 1975 with a 7.27 ERA and a 2.308 WHIP. He went on to pitch for Cleveland, Seattle and the White Sox with a career 4.61 ERA and 1.509 WHIP.

RHP Ron Mathis (55)
Originally drafted by Detroit in the 30th round in 1980, Mathis came to Houston as a free agent in May of 1982. In 31 games for the Astros in 1985 and 1987, he was 3-6 with a 5.93 ERA and a 1.598 WHIP.

RHP David Weathers (44)
A third round draft pick by the Blue Jays in 1988, Weathers came to Houston as a part of the June 2004 trade with the Mets for Richard Hidalgo. He pitched in 26 games that season with a 1-4 record, a 4.78 ERA and a 1.375 WHIP. In all, Weathers spent 19 seasons in the major leagues playing for nine different teams. He won a World Series with the Yankees in 1996.

Happy Birthday - 9/25

LHP Geronimo Franzua (19)
Yes, it is one of the cooler names in the Astros minor league system. Unfortunately Franzua, an NDFA from the Dominican Republic did not fare too well in his second season with the DSL Astros. In 12 games (one start), he had an 8.10 ERA and a 3.225 WHIP.

Four former Astros with birthdays today ~

SS/3B Ray Busse (64)
Originally signed by Houston as a NDFA in 1967, Busse played in a total of 44 games for the Astros in 1971, 1973 and 1974, hitting .153/.209/.200.

RHP Mike Stanton (60)
Drafted by Houston in the first round in 1973, Stanton pitched in only seven games for the Astros in 1975 with a 7.27 ERA and a 2.308 WHIP. He went on to pitch for Cleveland, Seattle and the White Sox with a career 4.61 ERA and 1.509 WHIP.

RHP Ron Mathis (54)
Originally drafted by Detroit in the 30th round in 1980, Mathis came to Houston as a free agent in May of 1982. In 31 games for the Astros in 1985 and 1987, he was 3-6 with a 5.93 ERA and a 1.598 WHIP.

RHP David Weathers (43)
A third round draft pick by the Blue Jays in 1988, Weathers came to Houston as a part of the June 2004 trade with the Mets for Richard Hidalgo. He pitched in 26 games that season with a 1-4 record, a 4.78 ERA and a 1.375 WHIP. In all, Weathers spent 19 seasons in the major leagues playing for nine different teams. He won a World Series with the Yankees in 1996.

Happy Birthday - 9/25

LHP Geronimo Franzua (18)
Yes, it is one of the cooler names in the Astros minor league system.  Franzua, despite going 0-6 in his debut season with the DSL Astros, did pretty well, particularly considering that he was only 17.  Over 10 starts, this non-drafted free agent from the Dominican Republic, pitched 39.1 innings with a 4.12 ERA.

Four former Astros have birthdays today:

UT IF Ray Busse (63)
Played for Houston in 1971 and again in 1973 and 1974

RHP Mike Stanton (59)
Played for Houston in 1975

RHP Ron Mathis (53)
Played for Houston in 1985 and again in 1987

RHP David Weathers (42)
Played for Houston in 2004