Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Happy Birthday - 5/16

RHP Blake Ford (24)
Originally drafted in the 44th round out of Lamar University in 2011, the big righty (6'5" 215 lb.) pitched very effectively in relief for the Gulf Coast Astros in 2011. In 18 appearances out of the bullpen, he had a 4-3 record with eight saves, a 1.90 ERA, a 1.394 WHIP and 20 strikeouts to only six walks.

RHP and Pitching Coach Doug Brocail (45)
A first round draft pick by San Diego in 1986, Brocail was part of the Houston organization on three separate occasions as a player. The Houston trades he was a part of (from Baseball-Reference):
December 28, 1994: Traded by the San Diego Padres with Derek Bell, Ricky Gutierrez, Pedro Martinez, Phil Plantier and Craig Shipley to the Houston Astros for a player to be named later, Ken Caminiti, Andujar Cedeno, Steve Finley, Roberto Petagine andBrian Williams. The Houston Astros sent Sean Fesh (minors) (May 1, 1995) to the San Diego Padres to complete the trade.
December 10, 1996: Traded by the Houston Astros with Brian Hunter, Todd Jones, Orlando Miller and cash to the Detroit Tigersfor Brad Ausmus, Jose Lima, Trever Miller, C.J. Nitkowski and Daryle Ward.
December 11, 2000: Traded by the Detroit Tigers with Brad Ausmus and Nelson Cruz to the Houston Astros for Roger Cedeno,Chris Holt and Mitch Meluskey.
He pitched in 151 games for Houston at the major league level in 1995, 1996, 2008 and 2009 with a 15-14 record, a 4.24 ERA and a 1.422 WHIP.

After retiring from baseball, Brocail became a special assistant to the Astros General Manager until he was pressed into service as the Astros pitching coach when Brad Arnsberg was fired in June 2011.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

RHP Bob Bruce (79)
Obtained in a trade with Detroit in December of 1961, Bruce pitched in 219 games for the Colt .45's and the Astros from 1962 to 1966. He was 42-58 with a 3.78 ERA and a 1.279 WHIP in a mostly starting role for Houston. His best season was 1964 when he went 15-9 with a 2.76 ERA and a 1.107 WHIP. He pitched in the final game at Colt Stadium and in the first game at the Astrodome.

RHP Rick Rhoden (59)
Rhoden was drafted by the Dodgers in the first round of the 1971 draft and came to Houston as part of a trade  with the Yankees in January 1989. Houston was the final stop in a 16 year career in the majors that saw Rhoden earn two All Star nods and three Silver Slugger Awards. After retiring from baseball, he went on to have a second, very successful career in golf.




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