With pre-season games underway (the Astros start Thursday), it’s a good time to get acquainted…again. Been awhile since we held an open house, so today’s the day.
Every month, we get numbers of who stops by the site and where they come from. Of the nearly 17,000 unique visitors in 2014, for example, Astros’ fans who were either stationed, visiting or living in Antigua, Barbados, Canada, Malaysia, St. Kitts, UK, United Arab Emirates, Brazil and even Russia (among others) stopped by the site multiple times.
The mission is simple. Introduce yourself and be sure to include these items:
- Your name.
- Where you’re from.
- Why you’re an Astros’ fan.
- How long have you been a reader/commenter of the blog.
- Your favorite all-time Astros’ player.
- Your favorite Astros’ memory. Or two. Or three.
Ready. Set. Go.
ALL THINGS ASTROS 
37 responses to “Open House: Astros’ fan, introduce yourself”
Kevin K age 60 5’9 190 Br and BR LOL
Ex Woodlands now Montrose CO
My Folks moved to Houston in 1976, got season tickets to the dome Astro’s and Oilers, been a fan ever since
Blog 6 years
Favorite Astro’s man that’s hard, different era’s, Kevin Bass, Dickie Thon, JR Richards, Biggio
Best Moments, Burke’s Home run in the 18th and Jason Lane catching the last out to get us in the WS 2005. it was so much fun in H Town!
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Hi, I’m Grampa, better known as 1oldpro. I am an Astros fan because I was shot in 1962 with a 45 caliber slug laced with orange and blue. I am an addicted and I can’t kick it. I’m sick.
I was raised in Houston, lived there for many years and have retired in OK. I am a closet Cougar fan to this day.
I am an Astros fan because I loved baseball as a kid and then the Colt 45s showed up in town. I love Bob Aspromonte.
Mid season of 2013 the Houston Spiticle changed their format and I fell out of their realm and found Chipalatta. I was welcomed to their 12 step program and have been here ever since.
On August 15th of last year I referred to Marisnick as Jake from State Farm in a comment and gave birth to his JFSF name. It is one of my moments.
My best friends here on the blog are Tim and Steven and we have the bite marks to prove it. Love you, guys. Becky is my inspiration. The guy I envy the most on this blog is daveb, because I think of him as Dave Buffet, singer of songs for the hammock.
I hate Bud Selig. A lot.
My favorite Astros moment is Burke’s home run. My least favorite Astros moment was the last out of the Astros 1980 season. I am still stunned.
The only problem I have with analytics is that my brain is already so full of baseball stuff. That is why I like Jeff Luhnow. His brain is not so full of baseball and he has room to store more data. We would make a good couple, except for the fact that we would try to fire each other all the time.
Happy to be here.
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Thx OP, I rather enjoy our debates, part of the reason I come here.
I’ll say this too – you have your hunches on who is going to help more, I have my hunches – but I think we are both fans of most all of them. I don’t think Marisnick will succeed as an everyday player, but man, if he does, that glove will be the super bonus. I am rooting for him and will be happy to be wrong. I suspect you feel the same way about Grossman’s bat. I appreciate your views, and find you right more often than wrong – it just seems opposite because where we agree isn’t near as fun to talk about.
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I like Marisnick because of his defensive tools and speed.
Now don’t pass out on me when I say that in 2015 I believe Grossman has a better chance to improve his faults than Marisnick does. Grossman switch hits, so he has a better chance to beat splits than JFSF does. Plus, I think it is easier to learn to swing the damn bat at Grossman’s age than it is for Jake to learn how to stop swinging the bat at his age. I think Grossman already knows how to hit, he just needs to swing at hittable pitches rather than taking them, because this is the big leagues and most pitchers will throw strikes to a contact hitter like Robbie, rather than walk him. That’s all I ask of Robbie. Look for a pitch to drive, not a pitch to take. This is going to be a big hitting team. Hit the ball like a left fielder and you got a job in my book.
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Thanks Grampa. Love you, too, man.
I am Tim C. My family moved from upstate NY to Houston in August 1977, when I was 10. I knew by April 1977 we were moving to Houston and became a fan of the 3 professional teams right away. Shortly after we moved to Houston my father took me for a ride ‘just to hang out’. He had a plan and as we were driving along the South Loop I saw the silver roof of the dome glistening in the sun. My eyes lit up and I fell in love with that structure. I really enjoy MMP, but my childhood memories are all from the dome. Currently, I live in Round Rock and have 2 sons, age 12 and 9. They both play the game I love with a passion. My favorite all-time player is Jeff Bagwell and my favorite moment was game 163 of the 1980 season as it got the Astros into the playoffs for the first time.
I have been on this particular blog pretty much from its inception, but was also an avid reader and responder when Chip had his blog on the Chron (spit!) website. Those who followed back then may remember me as the lone Cecil Cooper supporter. It wasn’t that I necessarily approved of the job he was doing, but just felt he was being unfairly judged. That’s in the past now so no need to debate this anymore.
Chip, Brian and Dan do a fantastic job engaging us in discussion and responding to our comments. I know I like to argue my point until I have no fight left in me, but I never take it personally and have thoroughly enjoyed these debates, especially the one we had last year about JFSF. I thought it was a spirited and fun debate. I appreciate every single person who posts on here, even Bopert. The one thing we all have in common is our love for the Astros and hope that some day we can all rejoice in a World Series victory. God bless each and every one of you.
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-Hi, I’m Devin. I moved to Houston before the ’86 season – fortuitous timing if there ever was such a thing. I stayed in TX through my second year of college before heading to the right coast to complete my degree in applied mathematics and computer science.
-I’m an Astros fan because the years of bad losses from ’87 through ’93 all still felt just like ’86 and a trip to the edge of the WS. When they broke through again under Dierker it was satisfying and seemed deserved. Ultimately it’s the competition I enjoy, so not winning doesn’t define my relationship to the team. A championship or two would be nice, though…
– I probably joined the Chiposphere a year or two after his fan blog began. I prefer the company here to the few other fan outposts, such as TCB, that I’ve found.
– favorite player is a tough one. I enjoyed watching Bagwell succeed more than any other player. He did the little things that too few noticed nationally. I never cheered harder for a player than I did Bill Spiers. I never wanted to see a player succeed more than Brandon Backe. I never saw a ball travel further than one of his pitches to Pujols…
– Favorite memory is equally fluid. Going to games at the dome will always beat the Ballpark at Union Station sponsored by corporate greed and then a fruit juice company. Beating Atlanta and STL in ’05 is up there.
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Hey y’all! I am Mike, aka Michael, PawPaw, Sarge, Honey, or Hawk depending upon the company I am keeping at the moment. I have been around long enough to see seven decades. I was able to retire at the tender age of 52 and currently work part time to stay occupied.
I am a native Texan, originally from the pretty little town of Seguin and my dad moved us to Houston when I was 4.
I am an Astros fan because I was a Colt 45 fan at the birth of the franchise. I have remained a fan because I am a Houstonian and I cheer for the home team.
I read and commented on Chip’s blog since he began it in the Chronicle (spit!). I googled his name last year and found this site and rejoined the camaraderie.
For the longest time, my favorite player was Jimmy (the toy cannon) Wynn. I then enjoyed watching the duo of Biggio and Bagwell. But now, after all is said and done, I suppose my favorite player would be Berkman. He played different positions for the team and never complained. He was a very good player and always hit in the clutch. But what separates him from the others, in my book, is that he was never too full of himself and enjoyed himself and the game he played. Laid back.
My favorite memory…. Jeff Kent throwing his helmet into the air as he crossed homeplate when he hit that walkoff homerun in the playoffs, just barely beating out the look of my wonderful wife’s expression when she looked at me during the World Series’ run, all while wearing her Astros’ World Series baseball cap with the tag still attached to it. Yes, I have a picture of it. Others are listening to Gene Elston on the radio, The feeling of relief when Milo Hamilton FINALLY retired. Carlos Beltran’s sick homerun string during the playoffs when he was here. The wife and I having 1st row seats behind the Astros’ dugout many times. My most heartbreaking one was during one of the games that we were behind the dugout, the game being played was against the Braves. They had a runner on first and a ball was hit to third base. The Astros’ third baseman threw across to Bagwell and the Braves’ runner stopped at second, juked Bagwell about four times and then took off for third. Poor Jeff promptly threw the ball… to the pitching mound and it rolled to third base. I was so embarrassed for him because his shoulder was that bad and other teams were taking advantage of it. And, of course, as I stated in an earlier blog here, anytime McCovey or Bench came up to bat they would hit at least one homerun against us in the game.
All in all, I am glad to be here friends!
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This is Mr. Bill. I am originally from Houston, but now live in Texarkana. I am a fan because when I was 8 [in 1962] a really bad thing happened to me and I had to find a new focus – make that obsession – to recover from it. My father had been a baseball player, and he began to talk to me non-stop about the new Houston baseball franchise – the Colt 45s. He took me to a lot of the games, and amidst dodging mosquitos I met, in person, a whole new breed of anti-heroes. I got to meet and shake hands with Turk Farrell, Joey Tiefenauer, Ken Johnson, Bob Aspromonte, Norm Larker, Joey Amalfitano, Bob Lillis, Al Spangler, Carl Warwick, Roman Mejias, and Jim Golden.
I started following Chip’s blog a long time ago when it was part of a not-to-be-discussed rag of expectoration. I do not remember the year.
My favorite Astro of all time was Turk Farrell. As he said with a smile about his experience in 1962, ‘It takes a helluva pitcher to lose 20 games!’.
My all-time personal favorite memory dates back a long ways. My dad was a character. He loved to hate on Jim Campbell, the Colt 45s original back-up catcher. It seemed like every time we attended a game poor Jim struck out multiple times leaving men in scoring position. My dad would give the poor guy ‘hell’, calling him ‘strikeout Jim Campbell’. I would defend the poor guy. At one game we attended Jim Campbell came up with the bases loaded, and from our seats right behind home plate Dad started in on him mercilessly: “Oh no – here we go – it’s ‘Strikeout Jim Campbell’. Jim promptly responded by hitting the first grand slam I ever had the privilege to witness in person. As Jim was crossing the plate he looked right at my dad, smiled, and tipped his hat. Dad and I would laugh about that incident the rest of his life.
My second personal favorite memory was on October 3, 2004. I had taken my sons to MMP to see Roger Clemens pitch the final game of the season against the Rockies, and hopefully to see our team clinch its first playoff spot since 2001. While we were walking to our seats we heard the bad news – the Rocket had come down with a bad stomach virus, and was not going to be able to pitch. Inconsistent young Brandon Backe was warming up to start in his place. My youngest son was crestfallen. I said: “Give him a chance!” Of couse, Backe happened to be absolutely lights out that day, and the place absolutely exploded as our ‘Stros clinched the long-awaited play-off birth.
Baseball to me has always been about family. And that is why I love Chipalatta, because this is my baseball family now.
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daveb
I think I’m the St. Kitts guy, but actually live on the sister island of Nevis, two miles across the Narrows, as we call the channel between the two islands of this independent nation of about 55,000 mostly cricket fans.
I moved to Houston as a kid in 1970 and at that point became an Astro fan. I suppose adopted hometown loyalty was the reason, along with becoming a Rockets and Oilers fan too.
Not sure how long I’ve been paying attention here, maybe five years?
Never really had a favorite ballplayer. Always liked different guys for different reasons. Terry Puhl, Vern Ruhle and the Casey Candaele types that always used every bit of talent they had. Mike Scott when he had the Mets so flummoxed. The regular suspects like Clemens, Richard, Biggio, Berkman, Bagwell. I liked Sambito and Thon for what they showed us they would have been.
No single moment sticks out…..there were so many, even in the years when this club was not so very good. For many years, I went to 60 or 70 games a year. I grew to love the Dome. Hard to pick the best. Saw a batch of no hitters, from Forsch, Ryan, Scott and others. Saw some pretty compelling playoff games. 16 innings against the Mets. Up 3-0 in the first and then letting the Mets score three in the ninth to tie it. And then losing it seven innings later. That was a tough loss. Never been more drained.
op, come and visit. I mean it. But I’m still trying to earn a living selling real estate. And you don’t want to hear me try to sing. But I am practiced in a hammock.
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dave, isn’t that the game Knepper went into the ninth with a shutout, got in trouble and Dave Smith couldn’t bail him out? I remember listening to that game in my shop out in SW Houston and I lost a few years of life that day
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Yep, that was the game old pro. Dykstra opened the ninth with a triple to right center that Gerald Young froze on. With his speed, it should have been a pretty easy play. But we had a chance to blow the Mets out in the first, With those three runs already on the board, Ashby was asked to drop a bunt down on a squeeze play that backfired. He has just hit a rope down the leftfield line a couple of feet foul. I forget who was on the mound for the Mets, but we had him on the ropes and let him off the hook with that play. I think the final was 7-6. So much happened in those estra 7 innings. Excruciating. And I’m still recovering too. Those and other demons won’t go away unless I live long enough to see our club win it all one October.
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howdy. im rj, originally from the tx panhandle, moved to austin for school and never left. my grandfather and father were big baseball fans. my dad pitched for a short while before the war with the st louis browns. one of my fondest memories is my grandfather headed back to the back room where we had hooked up a radio that never really got good reception to a station in shreveport, many hundreds of miles away. when ‘dado’ would head back to the room he would half jokingly say, ‘i’m going to take my punishment’. his way of saying it was time to listen to the colt 45’s/astros. I’ve been with the blog 3 – 4 years I’m guessing. bagwell was my favorite because of all the unsung qualities he had, that apparently hall of fame voters don’t know about. favorite memory is anytime a W goes up for us. things that stick in my mind that i saw live, tom seaver hitting a home run in the dome, tommy lasorda being obnoxious in the dome. the dome scoreboard going off for home runs. fav memory i guess mike scott clinching the division.
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Steven is my name. I am not crafty enough to make up any good nicknames for the blogosphere.
I am from Beaumont, and was taught the loyalty of being a fan of the local 9 from Pops, who oddly enough was from Oklahoma and a big fan of the Celtics? I grew up with time in Crystal Beach, Beaumont, Jasper, and a little Houston, so I am a fan because I am a local (also a big fan of the Rockets) – despite my career choice at 19 removing me from Texas – which I have not lived in now for nearly 24 years.
I go back so far that I remember commenters like H and Bill Holmes – both of which used to be regulars and still grace us ever so often. I believe I started as a regular commenter around 2008, maybe 2007. I found the blog when I was on one of many deployments and was looking for Astros info. Around that time I believe Justice was still with the Chron, and some other guy, as the pro writers, and there was Chip, the volunteer “fan” blog guy, actually showing to be smarter than these two clowns. I grew to appreciate it, and it wasn’t just Chip, it was a combination of the ferocity and fandom of his base of commenters – and minus alot of the trolling that with it. I was hooked from day 1 – good, honest discussion about the hometown 9, free of a newspaper editors opinion and influence, minus the trolling going on with commenters on Justices blog – it was heaven. Thanks for the years Chip.
As far as memories – I am still plenty young enough that I can hope for, at some point, a Braves type revival, where we get good for a decade plus, and I don’t mean Astros 96-2002 good, I mean Braves 1992+ good. As for the past – probably watching Jose Cruz hit. Roy Oswalts game 6 against the Cards to seal the deal was also a great memory, even if I had to just watch it on TV. Burkes HR, along with Ausmus also in that same game, were great. Man what a game that was period from so many guys. The 98 season and the 2 months and some change of dominance that was Randy Johnson was also a spectacular sight. Most of my joys aren’t from one event games though when it comes to baseball – I really appreciate the grind – and love Craig Biggio because he was the ultimate grinder.
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BTW – Campbell was the other writer. Not the swiftest guy.
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Steven, I was living in Chicago that summer of 98 when Johnson joined the club. I remember a weekend sweep of the Cubs spent at Wrigley with a batch of my brothers visiting, that included a Johnson shutout, I’m pretty sure. We had post game beers on Saturday with Biggio and Bagwell at Murphys Bleachers, long a game day watering hole in Wrigleyville. Great memories with family. By the way, Cubs fans always liked Biggio too, And he hit in that park!
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Hello. I am Christian. Born in Nebraska and I currently live in the middle of a cornfield in Iowa. I became an Astros fan in 1980 when I overheard my father talking about the “ridiculous” amount of money Houston was paying Nolan Ryan. I had to know who this “million dollar man” was. I got hooked by watching Jose Cruuuuuuuuuuz. I was the only Astros fan in high school during the 1986 run. I think there must have been over 200 Strawberry jerseys at school that fall. Cruz was and still is my favorite player. I will never forget the gem Mike Scott threw to clinch the division in ’86. I don’t comment much, but I’ve been reading for about 2 years now after stumbling across this site…..which is my go to place for lots of very insightful articles. I’m glad to have found y’all!
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Where in Nebraska. I grew up in Omaha.
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I grew up in south Omaha near The Stockyards…..went to Omaha South High.
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Our daughter and her family live in Ankeny, Iowa!! We only visit in the summer…..
cold and snow are four letter words!! Welcome friend!!
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A suburb of Des Moines. I’ve been through there many times.
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My name is Becky I am 66yrs. old a mother of three sons and two daughters. From this crew I have *9* beautiful, smart grandchildren! I am a retired Delta flight attendant, I flew for Delta 33yrs. and retired in 2001. My first introduction to the Astros was in early 1970 when we used to charter the team. Larry Dierker was a young stud, and J.R. Richards used to show us how he could hold four baseballs in his right hand! I married a wonderful guy who shared my love of the Astros, and we had season tickets for 6 yrs. in the Astrodome. The oil and gas business took us to Corpus Christi before the Hooks were playing there. My favorite player was Adam Everett. He wrote the book on the fielding bible! I It killed my soul to see him break his leg, when Carlos Lee ran into him. Mike Scotts no hitter, and Burke’s homerun……
MAGICAL!! I thank you fellas for allowing a girl to join in here. I’ve been with Chip for
a loooong time! Back when Lowell and I used to have arguments on a daily bases!
Steven……..you brought back great memories when Bill Holmes joined us! We all miss him. My first husband died in 1989, and I remarried a guy who watches golf.
So…….my trips to the ball park are few and far between……(((sigh))).
Chip we can’t thank you enough for starting this blog, and for allowing Dan, and Brian to pitch in when you can’t! I’ll keep hanging with this team until they take my body feet first outta this house! Old Pro…….*YOU* are my inspiration! I have learned sooo much from ALL of you fellas! Fondly, Becky
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Lowell … Wow, that’s a name from the past.
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I miss Lowell. Our arguments about Tavares made me and OP’s discussions about Marisnick and Grossman look mild. If I remember correctly he was actually friends with Willy T, lived in the same neighborhood or something.
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— Hey y’all, I’m Brad. Born and bred Houstonian currently living in Humble. I’m 34 and married with a 9yo girl and 5yo boy. Neither like baseball (yet!) so I haven’t officially claimed them.
— I’ve been an Astros fan as long as I can remember. My earliest memories are being at the Dome when that goofy looking new kid Biggio came up and he always looked dirty. I idolized him and #7 was instantly, and still is, my favorite number. My heart will always be an Astros heart.
— I’ve been a reader of this blog since, literally, day one. I was stationed in Ft Benning, GA from 1999-2006 while in the Army (Follow Me!) and my only means of following the Astros were the Chronicle website (no spit, I still enjoy their site, though their mobile website make me want to punch things). I read it every day and remember when Chip first started posting… at least first started posting where it appeared on the main page. Been hooked ever since.
— My favorite all time player is B G O.
— My favorite all time memory was in my living room the night Bidge hit 3,000, minus the part where he got thrown out at 2nd hahaha. Another favorite memory was in 2005 in Ramadi, Iraq reading in the Stars and Stripes newspaper that Houston was going to the World Series.
On the other hand, my worst Astros memory was about 5 seconds later when I realized I was in the armpit of Iraq with no TV and would get to see NONE of said World Series. And I didn’t get to. I saw one inning of game 3 I think after running the gauntlet to TQ and catching a TV in the chow hall.
What made it even worse was my bunk mate was from Chicago. And he wasn’t a Cubs fan. Yeah. It was a long couple weeks.
Love this blog guys. Rarely commenting, always reading. You guys rock.
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Hey guys.
Good to get to know all of you. I’m Mark from the Bay City area (TX, not Michigan). Became an Astros’ fan as a kid in the mid 60’s, mostly collecting their baseball cards and keeping up with them in the box scores in the back of the sports section of the Chronicle (spit!). Attended a few games in the dome via the free tickets we received when we made the honor roll. I made the honor roll often, but being the 10th out of 11 kids (who also made the honor roll often), my shift-working dad (God rest his soul) didn’t always have it in him to take us. I became an avid fan in the mid 70’s, and I credit that to Gene Elston who taught me the wonderful game in all its smallest details. I almost prefer listening to a game on the radio to watching in on TV to this day (almost, but not quite). But nothing is like going to the game, and I’ve enjoyed the experience in Minute Maid on numerous occasions.
However . . . that’s just a few games here and there. The majority of my enjoyment is just keeping up with the team throughout the season. And that couldn’t be accomplished without this blog. I’ve followed Chip from those days when he was the relief I sought after reading Justice, Campbell (thank you Steven), Ortiz and especially Solomon when he chimed in. And while I still suffer through reading the articles on the Astros’ website and the Chronicle (spit!), this is my home for Astros baseball. Chip, Brian and Dan, you deserve the credit. You’ve done a great job. And while I don’t always comment, all you guys who do, you are like family to me. You really are.
My all time favorite Astros are Art Howe, Mike Scott and Lance Berkman. There’s about 50 or so that earn a close 2nd place though.
My favorite memories are Mike Scott’s no-hitter to clinch and Berk’s home run. There again, there are so many that are right up there with those two. I regularly watch the Astros 50th Anniversary “Memories” video.
But back to the present . . . Go Astros! Can’t wait till tomorrow.
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For those of you who don’t read our bios, I am Brian Todd. I live with my patient and tolerant wife, Michelle, and our two eye-rolling daughters (who can often be found wearing old promo giveaway Astros shirts from when we lived in Galveston Co. and went to MMP often). Right now we live in Rochester, MN, but I grew up in Omaha.
I’m an Astros fan because my Little League team was called the Astros one year. At the time I was a Royals fan, so I thought I’d pick an NL team. (Yeah, that still stings.) I don’t really care about KC anymore.
I started reading Chip’s fan blog at the paper that shall not be named, and somehow I contacted him once and asked if he needed a guest blogger. These days I email Chip and Dan more than my own family, and I’ve never met either in real life. Chip and I talked on the phone once when he was dealing with Chron (spit!) crap.
My favorite Astros are, in no particular order, Mike Scott, Jose Cruz, Terry Puhl, Alan Ashby, Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, J.R. Richard, Roy Oswalt, Brad Lidge, Billy Wagner, Lance Berkman, Jose Altuve and Larry Dierker. I could see George Springer, Collin McHugh and Dallas Keuchel joining the list.
Mike Scott’s no hitter. Berkman and Ausmus’ homers, followed by Clemens from the pen and Burke’s blast. Watching Bagwell hit for the cycle live at MMP. Altuve winning a batting title. Lane catching that ball.
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My name has to stay Astro45 because the statute of limitations have not expired. Now that I am on “borrowed time” per the Bible (Three score and ten) I still enjoy the pure sport of baseball. So PEDs and the entire Longoria/Springer/Bryant mess ruin “sport” for me. I know it has a business side – just don’t want to see it. My first professional game to attend was a 60 mile ride south – Beaumont Exporters. I was ecstatic when MLB came to Texas. So Colt Stadium for a DH with the Cubs (Back then that meant Doubleheader). But my life took a wrong turn in the ’70s. I moved to Arlington just in time to become a Ranger fan. So I got to see Fergie Jenkins et al. Have to say that Jim Sunberg was the best defensive catcher I have ever seen. Saw the David Clyde inaugural with Chuck Estrada changing his mechanics in the bullpen while he was warming up. And left the year before Nolan arrived to pitch. So after a rehab to remove the Ranger addiction, I have returned back to a normal life cheering for the Astros. Albeit for the past two years in the dark. I enjoy these posts and comments. Two of my most memorable events at a game were (A) watching batting practice before an exhibition game with the Twins in the Astrodome. My God – they could hit. Then again around 1972 in Arlington – BP for the Tigers (Cash, Freehan, Kaline, Rodriguez, Horton) just the sound of the bats cracking the ball. A memory frozen in the mind. So as a fan that watched Pete Rose, he deserves in the HOF. He came every day with his best ability. And was fun to watch. To borrow from Baggie, a player needs to know “situation hitting.” It may ruin your stats to advance the runner, or bunt, or take an extra pitch so your guy can steal second, but it adds to the win column. Probably because of my age, I have a slight difference view than some. I think a lot of these stats that are now in vogue – remind me of the Ogden Nash quote – “Progress might have been alright once, but it has gone on too long.”
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I hope you don’t know more about me already than y’all want to:
Dan Peschong
My family moved to Houston in 1966 – born in Milwaukee Wisconsin.
I am the ultimate non-band wagon fan – I cheer for the home team no matter how bad they are and with the Astros, Oilers/Texans and Rockets that is a lot of bad. I don’t see any reason to cheer for some other team that is more successful – my heart is here in Houston.
Been with the blog from “the old days” at chron.com (spit!!)
My favorite all-time Astros player is probably Hall of Famer Craig Biggio just because he was not some athletic humongous freak, but a guy who looked like us size wise. Somebody who left his heart on the field and the field on his uniform.
Favorite memories
– The 18 inning playoff win
– The Roy Oswalt clincher to send them to the World Series
– The single game playoff win against the Dodgers to send us to the playoffs for the first time
– Seeing a game for the first time in the Astrodome back in ’66
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I really enjoyed learning about the folks who post on this wonderful site – I am continuously amazed at the depth of thought and research so many share here.
My name is John, and I grew up playing our wonderful game after falling in love with it about age six. I have lived many different places across the country in my 65+ years. My grandfather was a die-hard Pirates fan (and thus so was I in my young life), and I just made it home from school in October, 1960 in time to see Maz hit the homer to beat the Yanks.
I played in both high school and college before my talent clock ran out. In high school (living in California) I hated the Giants, and I first began to appreciate the Colt 45’s at a doubleheader in Candlestick Park in 1966. Of course, the Giants rallied in both games to win late, which only began the heartbreak that has followed all these many years. My family moved to Houston in late summer ’68, and the first game I saw in the Dome, people put up umbrellas up because the roof leaked.
My favorite (of many) memory is Mike Scott’s no-hitter vs. the Giants (still hate ’em). My worst is Kevin Bass striking out for the last out vs. the Mets in ’86 playoff game 6 – sucha tragic ending for such an exciting game. My son was born that year, and the playoff games were so special. I know we could have beaten Boston in the Series that year if we only had the chance.
I’ve lived in Austin for the past 37 years but still manage to get to Houston for games six or eight times a year. And up until a couple of years ago, I watched nearly every other game on TV. Hope I can resume that this year. Oh, I consider myself a life-long National Leaguer, and I don’t expect that to change anytime soon, even though I will always be a devout Astros fan.
I missed Gene Elston when they took him off the air, loved Biggio and Bagwell for so many years, enjoyed the Dome so much, like MMP only a little less, and can’t wait for the season to start – I’m not much of a GM but enjoy the conversations in the off-season just somewhat less than the games themselves. Thanks for letting me a small part of this community.
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Wow! We scored our first run of the Spring the old fashioned way. We EARNED it!
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And we now have our second run of the Spring by being patient at the plate, getting ahead in the count, and then doing what this team is projected to do – smoke a 3-1 pitch into stratosphere. Thank you, Mr. Valbueno.
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And, Mr. Bill, it seems it’s contagious! MarGo and Grossman go deep too? if this is part of the Luhnow Strategy, I’m in!
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I like the pattern set today. We scored one run for every offensive K we suffered, and we scored exactly half our runs via dinger, while the other half scored as a result of good situational hitting combined with smart base-running. Oh if we could just sustain that pattern when the opposing pitching starts getting less fastball happy and more game-ready!
I see the Phils put a charge into several of Appel’s pitches. I assume all he threw were fastballs?
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My name is Chip and I am a charter member of the Astroholic group. I live in Baton Rouge and have been following the Astros since I could tune a transistor radio.
Started writing for the Chronicle back in ’05. Remember the day I got the email, then call from then-sports editor Joe Conway. They had three members of their online team back then…for the entire newspaper. Talked to Joe outside my chiropractor’s office. It was to be a short-term gig just for the playoffs and obviously turned into a much longer endeavor. Interestingly, nearly a thousand of my entries are still at chron.com.
Too many favorite memories to mention and you’ve read them before so I won’t bore you with the list, but listening to Gene Elston and Loel Passe are near the top of the list. How can any list not include the ’80 and ’86 teams?
Spring training 2003, I was there.
18-inning game. I was there. In the Crawford Boxes. There were more memories in that one game than in most seasons. Berkman watching the last 9 innings, Ausmus, Burke homers, Clemens out of the pen, Chip in the Crawford Boxes.
Astrodome. I was there. Many times. Regular season and playoffs.
Favorite players? Not a fair question, not enough room. My favorite players could fill an entire roster but my boys wore #5 and #7 throughout their youth, so that should help to start filling in the blanks.
Yes, the organization — and baseball in general — has taken some of the wind out of the sails over the past several years, but that’s why they call them fair weather fans; they only show up when the wind is blowing in their direction. We will be there in the thick and thin of it.
Thanks for riding along with us.
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Chip, actually we thank YOU for allowing US to ride along with your creation here.
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My name is Simon Davey and I am from the UK but a dual citizen of the UK and Australia and am living and working in Malaysia.
I am an Astro fan because I saw them at my first ever baseball game, at the Dome, in 1997, when I was visiting Houston on business. I’ve linked to that game before, when the Astros won against the Expos in the 10th inning on a walk off home run by Sean Berry. July 26th I see, on bbref. Dustin Hermanson vs Ramon Garcia. Houston 9 Montreal 8. Billy Wagner the winning pitcher.
Reader of the blog since basically the beginning. Commenter not very often. First comment probably only 4-5 years ago. And I average one a year I think.
Favourite (oops, am British) Astro ever Lance Berkman.
Favourite moments – signing Roger Clemens, Jeff Kent’s walk off HR, the 18 inning game, the WS appearance in 2005, when Chipalatta became a reality and we were freed from you know where. And Lance Berkman’s glorious 2011 WS batting.
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Hello! I’m Carissa, native Houstonian currently living and working in Dubai.
I became a fan when I was growing up in Houston, the oldest of 6 children, my dad would sometimes buy nosebleed seat in the outfield of the Astrodome, and we all would share peanuts and cokes, passing around his binoculars, and the experience was always terribly fun. I remember waiting for the Killer B’s when I was too young to understand the rules of the game, knowing something exciting would probably happen while they were at bat, and that it is my favorite memory.
I returned to baseball when I finished graduate school in ’05 and found safe harbor with Chip.
One of my favorite players, in addition to those named, is Pence. He never looked or ran or threw like a professional ball player, but he made it work against all odds and sensibilities, and he has so much heart.
This is my first comment. But I rely on you, Chip, and the regulars to keep me informed while I’m 1/2 a world away. On a really good day in Dubai, when I start work at 8:00 am during baseball season, I can catch the last few innings LIVE of the previous day’s game.
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