What happened today in team history?
1992 – Astros go on a spending spree
In something rare for the Astros, the team signed four free agents this offseason, pitchers Joe Boever and Rob Murphy and infielders Ernest Riles and Denny Walling. Murphy and Riles didn’t do much for the team in the short time they were there, but Boever, in his one year with the Astros was great, leading the team in appearances (81) with a 2.51 ERA.
Walling on the other hand was coming back to the team for one last victory tour after spending 13 years with the club where he amassed 125 doubles, 345 RBIs and left with a .277 batting average.
2005 – Astros resing Berkman
The Astros avoid arbitration and re-sign their star outfielder Lance Berkman to a one-year, $10.5 million deal. Despite the team being worried about a serious off-season injury he faced that year, Berkman ended up playing over 130 games that year and hit 34 doubles and 24 homers, finishing top-15 in MVP voting.
2006 – Astros file insurance claim against Bagwell
After a team doctor deemed him unable to perform for the upcoming season, the Astros filed an insurance claim to recover $15.6 million of Jeff Bagwell’s remaining $24 million on his contract. Bagwell, after being told not to show up to Spring Training seeing as to how it would affect the lawsuit, showed up anyways, but didn’t do much. He ended up starting the season on the 15-day IL and not appearing in a single game that season before officially retiring from baseball.
What else happened on this day?