What happened today in team history?
1965 – Bob Aspromonte wins the first Jim Umbricht Award
After the Houston Astros renamed the award for the team MVP the previous April after Umbricht died from a long battle with cancer, infielder Bob Aspromonte won it for the first time. Aspromonte in the ‘64 season hit .280 with 20 doubles on a Colt .45s team that finished the season 66-96 and placed 9th in the National League.
1971 – Two former Astros are born
Two former first round picks by the Astros were born on this day: Infielder Phil Nevin and pitcher Jeff Juden. Nevin played with the Astros for one of his 12 years in the bigs before retiring and becoming a manager. Juden, who didn’t debut until 1991, pitched in Houston for two years before bouncing around the league for eight years.
2015 – Astros trade Dexter Fowler
In a deal with the Cubs, the Astros sent outfielder Dexter Fowler to Chicago in exchange for infielder Luis Valbuena and pitcher Dan Straily. Straily wouldn’t end up doing much for the Astros, only pitching in four games, while Valbuena went on to mash 38 homers in 222 games with the Astros.
What else happened on this day?
1994
Major league owners agree to give full power to the commissioner of the league in labor negotiations.
2016
Thanks to a lawsuit by fans, the MLB allows them to purchase a package for their team only, rather than having to pay for watching all the teams.