HOUSTON ASTROS CHRONICLES
THE COMEBACK BEGINS
UNPRECEDENTED LOOK INTO THE TRADITIONS AND HISTORY OF THE
“NEXT LEVEL”
JIM CRANE OWNER, CHAIRMAN
AND CEO
Jim Crane led an investment group that paid $615 million in 2011 for MLB’s Houston Astros and a minority stake in a regional sports network.The value of the team has quadrupled since Crane’s acquisition. Crane owns an estimated 40% stake.
Crane pocketed more than $300 million when he sold his freight logistics firm Eagle Global Logistics to Apollo Global Management in 2007.
Crane launched another logistics business, Crane Worldwide, in 2008; annual revenue is more than $900 million.
Crane owns the Floridian National Golf Club, whose members include former presidents Barack Obama and George Bush.
Under Crane’s leadership, the Astros Foundation has grown from $50,000 to $12 million.
The Astros also established the Community Leaders Program in Houston to provide newly renovated baseball and softball fields to engage and develop youth through sports.
The Astros have also supported several of Major League Baseball’s diversity initiatives, including the 2015 Civil Rights Game. The Civil Rights Game included ancillary activities developed by MLB to pay tribute to those who fought for equal rights for all Americans both on and off the field.
Jim Crane travels globally to meet with new and existing clients and identify potential acquisitions. Jim is a graduate of University of Central Missouri and is Chairman of the Houston Astros professional baseball team, based at Minute Maid Park, winners of the World Series championship.
HOUSTON ASTROS STARTERS LINE UP 2024
Jose Altuve #27
Jeremy Pena #3
Alex Bregman #2
Yordan Alvarez #44
Yainer Diaz #21
Chas McCornmick #20
Jake Meyers #6
Cesar Salazar #18
Try as I might, I can’t find reasons to be all that pessimistic about the Astros. The starting rotation clearly has some potential landmines, but these are talented arms with either minor league pedigree or Major League success. The offense is going to border on elite again and maybe even get there, as some lesser hitters were pressed into more action last season due to some injuries.
As long as the Astros stay healthy, it does appear as though they will win their seventh straight AL West title in non-COVID-shortened seasons and they will once again be a factor in the postseason. With the strength of the AL West and some improved teams in the other divisions as well, I could certainly see the Astros replicating last season’s 90-win season. However, the floor for this team is so insanely high that I couldn’t possibly bet the Under 92.5. The range of outcomes on the low end is still a lot higher than it would be for any other team.
In the last nine seasons, the Astros have gone to the playoffs eight times. They’ve gone to the ALCS seven straight years. They have four pennants and two World Series titles. They’ve won 100+ games four times. They went from laughingstock to incredibly decorated villain in a decade!
Big and Bright Friday Nights return to Minute Maid Park for the 2024 season! Join us every Friday home game and enjoy the best fireworks show around. Every Friday Fireworks show has a special soundtrack
Friday Night Fireworks shows are subject to weather. In the event a show must be canceled due to weather, refunds will not be granted. The Houston Astrodome was opened in 1965, introducing the national pastime to indoor baseball, fake grass and a fake fireworks extravaganza on a giant, four-story, $2 million video board that stretched from left-center to right-center field.
The “fireworks” were part of a nearly 45-second “home run spectacular” that played any time an Astro hit a home run -- an irritant to visiting pitchers. The display included a ball flying out of the stadium roof, giant cowboys firing off their six-shooters, fire-snorting steers and, finally, a multicolored video display of fireworks.
Here in Houston, officials remained tight-lipped about how much the Freedom Over Texas event will cost staged in Minute Maid Park but around the world fireworks.
This year’s Freedom Over Texas is an event filled with six-hours of festivities, tradition, and live concert stages, along Allen Parkway. Freedom Over Texas will feature local, regional, and national entertainment and will be capped off
with a musically choreographed, “Texas-sized” fireworks finale. This event has become Houston’s annual signature July 4th celebration with an average of 50,000 people in attendance and is televised live in Houston. The event will solicit television affiliates from across the state of Texas to simulcast a portion of the event. Freedom Over Texas will feature a unique non-profit component that joins forces with the Houston Food Bank to help fill an extraordinary demand in our regional community. The event will donate a percentage of food and beverage sales to the Houston Food Bank. We look forward to enjoying a fun, engaging, and safe event for our nation’s birthday.
Interleague baseball continued through the holiday weekend as the Boston Red Sox battled the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Capacity crowds packed the ballpark to see Friday Night fireworks as well as local products Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford. Beckett struck out eleven Astros on Sunday afternoon to complete the sweep, handing Houston their 56th loss of the season. Hunter Pence was selected to represent the Astros in next week’s MLB All Star game
Tomorrow night’s Friday Night Fireworks theme, presented by Occidental Petroleum, will be 80’s music, as voted for by fans on social!
Get your weekends started off with a bang at Minute Maid Park with the Friday Night Fireworks 14-Game Flex Plan! Stick around after each game for a spectacular fireworks show presented by Marathon Oil Corporation.
Jimmy Wynn “The Toy Cannon” (1963 -1977)
HALL OF FAME
Nolan Ryan “The Ryan Express” (1980–1988)
Jimmy Wynn spent the first 11 years of his 15-year Major League career with Houston, the first two as a member of the Colt .45s. Despite his small frame (5’9”), Wynn boasted enormous power and a strong throwing arm, earning him the nickname “The Toy Cannon”. In 11 years with Houston, he hit .255 with 228 doubles, 32 triples, 223 homers, 719 RBI and an .806 OPS in 1,426 games, the majority of which were played in the pitcher-friendly Astrodome. Wynn was named to the 1967 AllStar Team after clubbing 37 home runs with 107 RBI. Wynn remained an active member in the Houston community and worked as a community outreach executive for the club until his passing in 2020.
Major League Baseball’s strikeout king spent nine seasons pitching at the top of Houston’s rotation, his most among any of the four teams he played for in a 27year career. In 282 starts with the Astros, Ryan went 106-94 with a 3.13 ERA, 1,866 strikeouts, 38 complete games and 13 shutouts. The all-time franchise leader in career strikeouts, Ryan also owns the top career ERA in Astros history. A two-time All-Star with Houston, he led the NL in both ERA (2.76) and strikeouts (270) as a 40-year-old in 1987. In 1980, his first year with Houston, he helped pitch the club to their first National League West Division title after posting a 3.35 ERA in 35 starts. Ryan tossed his fifth-career no-hitter on Sept. 26, 1981, and became MLB’s all-time strikeout king on April 27, 1983. Ryan was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999 and now serves as an executive advisor for the Astros.
Joe Morgan “Little Joe” (1963–1971)
Before going on to win two NL MVP Awards and two World Series Championships with the Big Red Machine in Cincinnati, Joe Morgan kickstarted a Hall of Fame career with the Houston Colt .45s and Astros from 1963-71. A two-time All-Star with Houston, Morgan finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year Award voting in 1965, winning the Sporting News Rookie of the Year award after batting .271 with 22 doubles, 12 triples and 14 home runs in 157 games. Morgan came back to the Astros in 1980 and helped the club reach its first playoff berth and division title in franchise history, manning 141 games at second base while tying for the National League lead in walks (93). In total, Morgan played in 1,032 games with the Astros.
Terry Phul (1977 to 1991)
Longtime Astros outfielder Terry Puhl spent all but the final season of his 15-year Major League career with the Astros –topped only by fellow Astros Hall of Famers Craig Biggio (20) and Jeff Bagwell (15) for most seasons in an Astros uniform. During his tenure as an Astro, Puhl broke top 10 all-time in franchise history in multiple categories including WAR, games played, hits, doubles, triples and runs scored. Offensively, Puhl was a model of consistency, hitting over .300 in three different seasons and .282 or higher nine times. In 1978, he was selected to the NL All-Star team. defensively, Puhl was one of the most sure-handed outfielders in the National League, committing just 18 errors in 1,300 career games. His .993 fielding pct. is the best among outfielders in Astros history and ranks 8th all-time among all outfielders in NL history. Puhl was also an effective base-stealer, tallying 217 steals in his career, swiping 30-ormore bags twice and 20-or-more six times.
Q&A With Jeremy Pena
Jeremy Pena was the Astros’ third-round pick in the 2018 Draft out of the University of Maine. The son of former big leaguer Geronimo Pena, he hit .303/.385/.440 across two levels of A-ball during his first full season, then went to the Arizona Fall League. He was invited to big league camp for the first time this spring.
During Peña’s sophomore year of high school, the elder Salcedo suggested they make a video of Peña’s baseball skills to share with Steve Trimper, UMaine’s baseball coach at the time, in hopes of attracting his attention. It did. Soon Trimper sent his assistant coach, Nick Derba, to Rhode Island to watch Peña play.
Based on Derba’s glowing report, Trimper offered Peña a scholarship to attend UMaine. Other colleges and Major League teams began to show interest in Peña as well, but ultimately his decision was swayed by a trip he took to Orono with the Salcedo family to watch Jonathan Salcedo play.
He enrolled at UMaine in late August of 2015 to major in business administration, moving into Knox Hall, part of the Hilltop housing complex. That’s where he met Danny Casals and Nick Silva, two first-year students and baseball players who had been high school teammates in Florida.
Peña, Casals, and Silva moved into an off-campus apartment during their sophomore and junior years. Periodically Peña’s parents would visit, with Peña’s mother preparing a variety of Hispanic foods to keep the apartment’s refrigerator stocked.
Following Peña’s junior year, the Houston Astros selected him as its second pick in the 2018 Major League Baseball draft of amateur players. Peña’s decision to forego his senior year in Orono was understandable given his lifelong dream of playing pro ball—and the considerable financial incentives being of
fered to him. Peña moved quickly through the Astros’ minor league system. Then, in March of 2022, opportunity knocked when the Astros’ starting shortstop, All-Star Carlos Correa, signed a multi-year contract with the Minnesota Twins. Suddenly Peña became the frontrunner to succeed Correa as the Astros’ everyday shortstop.
Spring Training approaches, Peña says he is focused on being physically and mentally prepared for the 2024 season. “In order to have success you’ve got to prepare yourself,” says Peña. He credits Derba and assistant coaches Matt Marsh and Conor Burke for helping him further refine his skills in advance of a pro career, “Maine was the best place for me for that preparation.”
When few people outside the Astros organization knew much about him, Peña has become one of the faces of Major League Baseball. Respected baseball journalist Jim Callis recently highlighted Peña in a column titled “10 Years Down the Road, These 2022 Rookies Will Be the Biggest Stars.”
QHow excited were you when you got the invite to big league camp?
AI was really excited. You grow up watching these guys on TV. These guys have been in the game for many years. Just being around them, it’s a really cool experience.
QNew England is a tough place to play baseball and you went to high school in Rhode Island. And Maine, where you went to college, is not exactly a hotbed, either. Was there ever any concern that you wouldn’t get noticed playing up there?
AThat was never the focus. The focus was never to get noticed. I was just going to a program where I thought I was going to develop as best as possible as a player. It is cold but we had everything indoors. As soon as I saw the facilities, I knew it was the place for me. It did work out, so I can’t really complain.
QWhat’s the biggest positive, and maybe a negative, about being the son of a former big leaguer?
AThere are a lot of positives. Just having that in your back pocket, he’s a call away, whenever you need any advice. Not everyone has that. He’s played the game at the highest level, so he has a lot of good information. I don’t think there are many negatives.
QThere isn’t a higher level of expectations because you’re a Pena?
AMy dad doesn’t really put that pressure on me. He always tells me to go out there and do what you can do, prepare as best as possible and perform. I’ve always
been thankful for that.
QHe obviously had a nice big league career. Is there any motivation to sort of one-up your dad?
AAlways. I can’t say anything at the dinner table because he always brings up, “But I’m a big leaguer, you’re still a Minor Leaguer.” It’s good to have him there.
QYou came into pro ball maybe known more for your defense than your bat, but you made some tremendous offensive gains last year. What can you attribute that to?
AI’ve never really considered myself just a defender. I’ve always known that I had that. I’ve always known that I can hit, so it was just a matter of time developing, tweaking little things here and there and I always knew it was going to click eventually. I’m glad last year was a good year, but still, we have a lot of things to work on, so I’m excited for next year.
QWhat was the Arizona Fall League like last year, just in terms of getting a glimpse of the levels above you?
AIt was pretty cool. It was a really nice experience. I’ve never been to Arizona. You’re playing the best Minor Leaguers. It was a pretty cool experience, kind of see where you stack up against those guys and know what to take into the offseason.
QYou’ve moved around a bit defensively so far in your career. What’s it like coming to the park and maybe not knowing where you’re going to be playing in any given day? Would you prefer just to play shortstop and settle in at one spot?
AWe play the shift a lot, so you have to be able to turn the double play from the second base side, you have to be able to turn the double play from the shortstop side, so it’s not really a big drastic change moving around. We do play the shift, so it’s pretty much moving around anyway.
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