Former Astros will appear at Alumni game

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Former Astros will appear at Alumni game

Sports

Saturday, 09 July 2011 05:38

By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor
Given the current sad state of the Houston Astros, mired in last place in the National League’s Central Division, almost 30 games under .500, perhaps its best for local baseball fans to remember the Astros from a happier time.
They’ll have that opportunity Wednesday, when many of the team’s former stars will perform at the Major League Baseball Alumni All-Star game at Osceola County Stadium.
The event, which begins with a home run hitting contest at 4:30 p.m., benefits the Osceola County Council on Aging. The game begins at 5:30 p.m.
Tickets are $10 for ages 3 and older and are available through Ticketmaster or weekdays at the stadium office.
Among the players representing the Astros is former staff ace and two-time all star Bob Knepper, who won 93 games for the team from 1981-89.
The outspoken Knepper earned the wrath of feminists in 1988 for his opposition to having a female umpire, Pam Postema, work a spring training game.
Shane Reynolds won 103 games for the Astros from 1992-2002. He was a 19-game winner in 1999 and pitched in four postseason series for the Astros.
First baseman Glenn Davis was one of the Astros best power hitters and a two-time all star from 1984-90, hitting 166 homers and driving in 518 runs over that span.
Shortstop Dickie Thon, like Knepper and Davis, was on the Astros roster when the team moved its spring training base from Cocoa to Kissimmee in 1985. Thon was a career .264 hitter over 15 seasons with California, Houston, San Diego, Philadelphia and Milwaukee.
Thon’s career was jeopardized after he was struck in the face by a Mike Torrez fastball during the 1984 season, fracturing the orbital bone of his left eye. He returned for the 1985 season but the injury caused permanent problems with his depth perception and his career ended in 1993.
Outfielder Jimmy Wynn, a Houston player in 1963 when the team was known as the Colt .45s, also is expected to attend. Wynn, only 5-10 and 160 pounds, played for Houston through the 1973 season and was known as the “Toy Cannon” for his surprising long ball power. He hit 20 or more homers eight times during a 15-year career that concluded with stops in Los Angeles and Atlanta.
Former Astros manager Phil Garner also is expected to attend. Garner, nicknamed “Scrap Iron,” played second base for the 1979 World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates.
Former St. Louis outfielder Mark Whiten and former Kansas City hurler Craig Eaton also are expected to play.
The Opening Ceremonies for the USSSA Gold Medal Games, for players ages 15-16, also will be part of the all-star game festivities.