Happy Birthday - 10/10

Happy Birthday to ~

OF Ydarqui Marte (22)
A non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic, Marte spent his fifth professional season with the Greeneville Astros. In 51 games, he hit .269/.338/.383 with eight doubles and four home runs.

Several former Astros mark the day as well ~

RHP Brian Powell (died 10/5/09 at age 35)
A second round pick by Detroit in 1995, Powell came to Houston in a December 1999 trade. In ten games (six starts) for the Astros in 2000 and 2001, he was 2-2 with a 6.82 ERA and a 1.602 WHIP.

SS Roger Metzger (67)
A first round pick by the Cubs in 1969, Metzger came to Houston in an October 1970 trade. In eight seasons for the Astros (from 1971 to 1978) he hit .229/.291/.293 and led the league in triples in 1971 and 1973. He also led the league in fielding percentage for a shortstop in 1973 and 1976 and won a Gold Glove in the first of those two years.

IF Rob Sperring (65)
Originally drafted by the Cubs in the fifth round in 1971, Sperring came to Houston in a March 1977 trade with the Giants. In 58 games played with the Astros that season, he hit .186/.254/.233.

OF Fernando Martinez (26)
Signed by the Mets out of the Dominican Republic in 2005, Houston obtained Martinez off waivers from New York in January 2012. He played in 52 games for Houston over two seasons, hitting .225/.285/.424 with seven doubles, one triple and seven home runs.

Happy Birthday 10/10

Happy Birthday to ~

OF Ydarqui Marte (21)
A non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic, Marte first played for the DSL Astros in 2010. He has spent the three seasons with the GCL Astros, this year hitting .247/.317/.349 in 49 games. He also played in four games at Tri-City this season.

Former Astros with birthdays today:

RHP Brian Powell (died 10/5/09 at age 35)
A second round pick by Detroit in 1995, Powell came to Houston in a December 1999 trade. In ten games (six starts) for the Astros in 2000 and 2001, he was 2-2 with a 6.82 ERA and a 1.602 WHIP.

SS Roger Metzger (66)
A first round pick by the Cubs in 1969, Metzger came to Houston in an October 1970 trade. In eight seasons for the Astros (from 1971 to 1978) he hit .229/.291/.293 and led the league in triples in 1971 and 1973. He also led the league in fielding percentage for a shortstop in 1973 and 1976 and won a Gold Glove in the first of those two years.

IF Rob Sperring (64)
Originally drafted by the Cubs in the fifth round in 1971, Sperring came to Houston in a March 1977 trade with the Giants. In 58 games played with the Astros that season, he hit .186/.254/.233.

OF Fernando Martinez (25)
Signed by the Mets out of the Dominican Republic in 2005, Houston obtained Martinez off waivers from New York in January 2012. He played in 52 games for Houston over two seasons, hitting .225/.285/.424 with seven doubles, one triple and seven home runs. He was traded to the Yankees in June for RHP Charles Basford.

Happy Birthday - 10/10

OF Fernando Martinez (24)
Signed by the Mets out of the Dominican Republic in 2005, Houston obtained Martinez off waivers from New York in January 2012. In 90 games with AAA Oklahoma City this season, he hit .314/.367/.507 with 23 doubles, two triples and 13 home runs. In 41 games with the Astros, he hit .237/.300/.466 with seven doubles, one triple and six very, very long home runs.

CF Ydarqui Marte (20)
A non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic, Marte first played for the DSL Astros in 2010. He has spent the last two seasons with the GCL Astros, this year hitting .210/.222/.306 in 33 games.

Former Astros with birthdays today:

RHP Brian Powell (died 10/5/09 at age 35)
A second round pick by Detroit in 1995, Powell came to Houston in a December 1999 trade. In ten games (six starts) for the Astros in 2000 and 2001, he was 2-2 with a 6.82 ERA and a 1.602 WHIP.

SS Roger Metzger (65)
A first round pick by the Cubs in 1969, Metzger came to Houston in an October 1970 trade. In eight seasons for the Astros (from 1971 to 1978) he hit .229/.291/.293 and led the league in triples in 1971 and 1973. He also led the league in fielding percentage for a shortstop in 1973 and 1976 and won a Gold Glove in the first of those two years.

IF Rob Sperring (63)
Originally drafted by the Cubs in the fifth round in 1971, Sperring came to Houston in a March 1977 trade with the Giants. In 58 games played with the Astros that season, he hit .186/.254/.233.

Happy Birthday - 10/10

CF Ydarqui Marte (19)
A non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic, Marte first played for the DSL Astros in 2010, hitting .240 over 61 games in 2010.  In 2011, he hit only .122 over 17 games (injury issues?), but did manage a .273 BA vs. lefties and went 3-9 with runners in scoring position.

Former Astros with birthdays today:

SS Roger Metzger (64)
Played for Houston from 1971 to 1978, hitting .229 with a .291 OBP
Gold Glove in 1973
1st in Triples in NL in 1971 and 1973
1st in Fielding % for SS in NL in 1973 and 1976

UT IF Rob Sperring (62)
Played 58 games for Houston in 1977