Abreu looked shocked that was a triple. He's used to having Tucker out there.

Here's another second baseman who wore no. 19. He had some good years in Houston and would be remembered better if for not who the Astros traded for him. Definitely on the all-time sideburns team.

Kyle Tucker comes through to give Team USA the lead! ⚾️ #WorldBaseballClassic pic.twitter.com/tCnpPvqWwk

— The Comeback (@thecomeback) March 12, 2023

FYI

Mike Trout sucks, minimum Over- Rated

Astros-Marlins pic.twitter.com/MOaUapbrm2

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) March 12, 2023

The Astros have optioned Forrest Whitley to minor league camp.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) March 12, 2023

Here are today’s Astros roster moves.
Optioned to Sugar Land:
RHP Forrest Whitley
RHP Shawn Dubin
RHP JP France

Reassigned to Minor League camp: RHP Joe Record.

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) March 12, 2023

Eighteen days until Opening Day brings us to Jersey #18, worn first famously by Joe Morgan from 1965 to 1971 when the Astros traded him to Cincinnati for a sack of garbage.



One of two Astros to hail from Bonham, TX, Morgan debuted with the Astros on September 21, 1963 at age 19. He became the Astros' full-time second baseman in 1965, playing 157 games, scoring 100 runs, racking up 48 extra-base hits (12 triples), and leading the league with 97 walks. I need to see if I can find a list of rookies who led the league in walks. It must be super short.

He was a really good player on some really bad teams, eventually upping his stolen base game to lethal status, stealing 49, 42, and 40 bases in his last three years as an Astro. He missed almost the entire 1968 season out hurt. He was traded after the 1971 season in an 8-player deal to the Reds for Tommy Helms, lee May, and Jimmy Stewart (not that one).

With the Reds, he moved to the #2 and #3 spots in the order, making eight all-star teams in row, winning back-to-back MVPs in 1975 and 1976, and five straight Gold Gloves at second base. In 1976, he had one of the most statistically dominant seasons of the decade, scoring 113 runs, hitting a career-best 27 homers, driving in a career-best 111 runs, walking 114 times against just 41 strikeouts, stealing 60 bases, hitting .320 and leading the league in OBP (.444) and SLG (.576) for an OPS of 1.020.

In a "they don't make them like that anymore" moment. Morgan, who upon the trade to the Reds promised he'd come back to Houston one day if given the chance, signed a 1-year deal with the team in 1980 at age 36 for $225,000, taking a paycut of $250,000 from the year before with the Reds. He played 141 games at 2B and helped the Astros to their first division title, leading the league with 93 walks and stealing 24 bases.




After Morgan left the first time, an unlikely young man named Art Howe wore the number from 1976 to 1982, and again as the Astros manager less than a decade later. I learned from Art's baseball card back in the day that he was working as a computer programmer back in the early 70s when a friend asked him to come with him to open tryouts for the Pittsburgh Pirates because the friend was too nervous to go alone. Of course, Howe made the cut and the friend didn't. Howe had gone to the University of Wyoming on a football scholarship but gotten hurt and played baseball after that career ended.

Howe came to the Astros in 1976 in a trade and hung around until 1982, hitting like a mofo and playing 4 infield positions. He hit over .283 three times, and was the shining star on the offense in the biggest game of the Astros' first 25 years as a franchise. In the Game 163 tie-breaker against the POS Dodgers to decide the NL West crown, How hit a two-run homer off Dave Goltz in the third and a two-run single off Joe Beckwith in the fourth, finishing 3 for 5 with 4 RBI.

Howe returned to fame in the 2011 film Moneyball, when he was played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, which is sort of like saying we need someone to play Michael Jordan in a movie, and selecting Kevin Hart.



The player who did the best while wearing #18 for the Astros was Moises Alou who the Astros picked up at the Florida Marlins "everything must go!" sale after they won the 1997 World Series. Alou plated three seasons the team, missing all of 1999 a treadmill ate his leg ... or something.



In the offensive explosion era of the late 90s, Alou was as good as they got. He hit .312 with 38 HR and 124 RBI in 1998, 30 HR with 114 RBI and a .355 average in 2000, and 27 HR, 108 RBI and a .331 average in 2001. That's 3 years with a .331 average and a .988 OPS. But like everyone else, he sucked in the post-season in 1998 and .167 in 2001.



The last Astro to wear #18 as Jason Castro in 2021-2022, who saved our ass in the 2021 ALCS and retired an Astro.

Potential gold program jersey?

Hector Neris Houston Astros 2023 Gold Program Jersey - Whitehttps://t.co/jxO8yfvOfZ

— Nathania (@Nathani95381931) March 11, 2023

Kind of lame.

Farmer1906 said:

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Kind of lame.

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If it's true, it's very similar to the Braves. I'm hoping for more gold though.

Dang it. Beat me to it.

Great minds.

Farmer1906 said:

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I kind of want it obnoxious. Like use our blue unis and make the letters, numbers and rainbow with gold.

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Honestly they could probably make 2 different options. The one above + the one you're describing and still make money hand over fist.

Would be fun to see the "gold" version of each uniform we wear.

bearkatag15 said:

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ICYMI: Neris almost taking Altuve’s head off: pic.twitter.com/J0WbApE5A0

— Space City Sports (@LiveSCS) March 12, 2023

Missed it live. Glad someone got video

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It did not send Tuve sprawling but the next pitch was also up and in.

EastCoastAgNc said:

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The Astros have optioned Forrest Whitley to minor league camp.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) March 12, 2023

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I hate to see this "kid" struggle, with all his projected tallent. Maybe he can convert to a back end bullpen/closer type of arm...?

Dusty Baker said he paired Korey Lee with Hunter Brown today in hopes that Brown would be more comfortable with a catcher he's more familiar with. Martín Maldonado, who is away at the WBC, caught Brown's first two Grapefruit League starts.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) March 12, 2023

Former Astros second-rounder Jayson Schroeder announced his retirement on Instagram this morning. Appreciated his candor last year when we talked about his career - https://t.co/LUg3TswfUm

But situations like his epitomize why Jim Crane hired Dana Brown - https://t.co/BqRNGysYzH

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) March 12, 2023

Framber Valdez starts tomorrow for the Astros against the Nationals. Tuesday is a split-squad: Brandon Bielak will start the home game against the Cardinals and Jayden Murray will start against the Marlins in Jupiter.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) March 12, 2023

How can you mention Alou without discussing peeing on your hands?

Quote:

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Eighteen days until Opening Day brings us to Jersey #18, worn first famously by Joe Morgan from 1965 to 1971 when the Astros traded him to Cincinnati for a sack of garbage.

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The standing joke when I was a kid was that Spec Richardson (Astros GM) built championship teams, just not for Houston. His bad trades were legendary. The one for Morgan was the most notorious, but was far from the only one. There were even some others that could rival it in terms of badness.