Team’s Annual Baseball Festival Held in Conjunction with the Astros and Blue Jays Exhibition Games at Minute Maid Park

HOUSTON – On Friday, April 2 and Saturday, April 3, the Houston Astros and the Astros in Action Foundation will kick off the 2010 season with FanFest. Proceeds from the two-day event benefit the Astros in Action Foundation.

FanFest will take place at Minute Maid Park throughout the main concourse and features autograph sessions with the current roster of players along with former Astros some of which include Kevin Bass, Bill Heath, John Hudek, Shane Reynolds, Scipio Spinks, Carl Warwick, Brian Williams, Jimmy Wynn and Eric Yelding.

Other favorite activities include Talkin’ Baseball seminars with Astros broadcasters and staff, a TRISTAR sports card and memorabilia show along with a silent auction and the always popular Garage Sale of Astros promotional merchandise and “memory lane” autographed items.

New this season will be an Astros trivia-style game show that will reward fans with unique Astros goodies for their keen knowledge of the hometown team.

Throwing arm injuries are on the rise in Little League and other youth baseball programs. After these injuries occur, a number of players are out for the season; others require surgery and must refrain from play for an even longer duration; still others sustain injuries so severe that they cause permanent damage and are unable to continue playing baseball.

Three new studies presented today at the at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) address this critical issue, each offering new solutions to help prevent these injuries.

Five-minute stretch after play can help young players avoid throwing-arm pain

Pitchers and catchers under the age of 15 often experience tightness of a shoulder ligament known as the posterior-inferior glenohumeral ligament.

HOUSTON – The University of Houston baseball team needed just one run to knock off No. 3 Texas, 1-0, Saturday afternoon to improve to 2-0 at the Houston College Classic.

After Michael Goodnight struck out three of the five batters he faced to open the game, Blake Kelso carried that momentum to the bottom of the inning with a leadoff triple deep to right center. He would go on to score on the next pitch, a wild pitch by Texas pitcher Brandon Workman.

That would be the end of all the scoring in the contest against the Longhorns, as Houston notched its second consecutive shutout at the tournament. It marks the first back-to-back shutouts for Houston since doing so against Cincinnati on April 11-12, 1998.

Houston also snapped a five-game losing streak against Texas, as they improve to 30-90-2 in the all-time series.

HOUSTON – University of Houston senior catcher Chris Wallace was named to the watch list for the 2010 Coleman Company – Johnny Bench Award on Tuesday.

This award is given each year to the top Division I catcher in the country. All 53 members of the watch list have been nominated by their university and the list will be updated to include players until May 5. The list will then be narrowed down to ten semifinalists, which are announced May 19. The names of the semifinalists will be sent to a national voting panel to determine the three finalists. These finalists will be announced June 2 prior to the start of the NCAA Regionals. After a final vote by a national committee, the three finalists will be brought to the 13th Annual Greater Wichita Sports Banquet on July 1, 2010, and the winner will be announced at that time.

SPRING TRAINING TICKET UPDATE: The Astros-Red Sox game scheduled for March 16 is very close to being officially sold out, after which standing room only tickets will be sold...only standing room tickets remain for the Astros-Yankees game scheduled for March 20...however, tickets remain for all other Astros Spring Training home games...Spring Training tickets can be purchased online at www.astros.com, by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000 or by visiting the ticket office at Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee, FL, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (ET).

LET THE GAMES BEGIN: The Astros begin the 2010 Grapefruit League schedule at home on March 4 vs. the Washington Nationals (1:05 p.m. ET)...the Astros have 31 Spring Training games scheduled in Florida and two exhibition games vs. Toronto scheduled for April 2 and 3 at Minute Maid Park...for the full Astros Spring Training schedule, visit www.astros.com.

NO CHARGE: Astros Spring Training workouts at the Osceola County Stadium complex begin at 9:30 a.m. each morning and are open to the public, free of charge.

Big Ed Morris' Fateful Night

On the night of Feb. 29, 1932, a tragedy occurred in Foshee, Ala.

It involved "Big" Ed Morris, star pitcher of the Boston Red Sox since 1928 and one of the more colorful and popular players in the game. Big Ed (who, incidentally, stood 6-foot-2) was no small talent. A control pitcher, Morris won 19 games in his rookie season with an ERA of 3.54 and 20 complete games to his credit. The Red Sox of the late 1920s and early '30s were miserable teams that finished last every year of his career except once, and his numbers, too, had steadily declined.

In 1931, he had struggled with injuries and was looking forward to getting back on track that spring training -- particularly since it was rumored that the New York Yankees were going to buy him for the out-of-worldly sum of $100,000.

A hometown hero in the sleepy town near the Florida border, the townsmen insisted on giving him a send-off party. Flattered, White decided to arrive a day late to spring training to attend.

It was a fatal mistake.

HOUSTON – The University of Houston baseball team dropped its Opening Day contest, 6-0, to Texas State on Friday night at Cougar Field. With the loss, Houston falls to 0-1 for the second consecutive season.

Sophomore Michael Goodnight turned in 4.2 innings on the mound allowing just one hit before loading the bases on a single, hit batter and walk. Senior William Kankel came into the game to walk his only two batters before sophomore Codey Morehouse entered the game to try and close out the inning. His lone batter in the fifth flied out to centerfield and the Cougars closed out the inning trailing, 0-2.

HOUSTON – The 2010 Houston Baseball season is just a few days away. The Cougars kick off the year against Texas State on Feb. 19-21 against Texas State at Cougar Field. Below is an in-depth look to the Cougars this season.

Depth is the name of the game in 2010 for the University of Houston baseball team. After a lot of movement and uncertainty in the lineup a season ago, the Cougars are back with depth and a competitiveness that head coach Rayner Noble says is key to their success.

“The most noticeable thing is that we have a pretty good amount of depth, and there will be a lot of competition at the positions,” Noble said.

Houston will also look to build off of the 2009 season. After a slow start, the Cougars finished the year with a 13-11 mark in league action and the fourth seed in the Conference USA Tournament. Of last season’s squad, 20 members return in 2010, led by the senior group of Barry Laird, William Kankel, Zak Presley and Chris Wallace.

Also back this season are Blake Kelso, Jared Ray and Michael Goodnight. Kelso, Ray and Wallace were each named to the All C-USA Second Team, while Goodnight was named to the All-Freshman Team in 2009.

HOUSTON, TX--Astros first baseman Lance Berkman and former Major League pitcher Burt Hooton, who currently serves as pitching coach at Triple A Round Rock, will be among several individuals inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in Waco, TX on Monday, February 8.

The induction ceremonies will take place during a dinner being held at Baylor University’s Ferrell Center at 7:00 p.m.

The Texas Sports Hall of Fame, which began in 1951, is for athletes, coaches or administrators “that have brought lasting fame and honor to Texas sports.” Each year, a committee selects a new set of inductees from a list of nominees.

The 33-year-old Berkman, a five-time All-Star with 313 home runs in his career with the Astros, is a Waco, TX native and a graduate of New Braunfels Canyon High School. During his three-year baseball career at Rice Uni­versity (1995-97), Berkman earned first-team All-America honors and in 1997 was named the National College Player of the Year by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

Three top-10 nationally ranked teams participating in yearly tournament  

HOUSTON, TX — Minute Maid Park will again host one of the most highly competitive early-season college baseball tournaments in the country when the 2010 Houston College Classic begins tomorrow, March 5, at 12:00 p.m.

The tournament enters its 10th season and features six teams, including three teams that are nationally ranked in the top-10 by Baseball America’s weekly poll. No. 3 Texas leads the group and is followed by No. 7 TCU and No. 9 Rice. Rounding out the field is the University of Houston, which makes their annual entry into the tournament, as well as Texas Tech and Missouri.

Play ball!

It is the time-honored command of the umpire after the home pitcher's final warmup toss, signifying that a visiting batter shall step into the box for the first at-bat of the game. Other sports begin with a kickoff or a jump ball or a faceoff or a starter's gun, setting into motion a clock, whereas baseball has that two-word shout and then the game takes its timeless course.

This week is the first time we will hear this command in 2010, forever with the exclamation mark at the end. The umpire never asks someone to "Please play ball." It is not suggested that they "Should play ball." It is ordered. For it is life, as much as it is baseball. The time comes every year for the games to begin, "Play Ball!" is barked, a pitcher throws the first ball to the plate, and thus begins the long road to a World Series clincher.

HOUSTON – The University of Houston baseball team came up short in its comeback bid against Texas State Sunday afternoon at Cougar Field. Houston trailed seven going into the eighth inning and pulled within two before falling to the Bobcats, 9-7.

With the loss, Texas State completed the opening weekend series sweep of the Cougars and UH falls to 0-3 on the year.

Houston looked to earn their first win of the season, getting their bats going in the first inning. Junior Joel Ansley started things off with a single up the middle and sophomore Austin Gracey’s walk put two runners on base. With two outs, freshman M.P. Cokinos single to left field, plating Ansley and putting Gracey on third. Sophomore Matt Creel then gave Houston its second run, scoring Gracey on a single through the left side.

KISSIMMEE, FL – The Houston Astros have extended the contract of General Manager Ed Wade through the 2012 season, Chairman and CEO Drayton McLane announced today.

Wade, who was originally named Astros G.M. on September 20, 2007, was given a two-year extension on his original contract, which was through the 2010 season.

“We feel this is very appropriate,” McLane said. “Ed is an outstanding baseball man. He’s organized and has surrounded himself with a good, solid staff. Much of the work Ed did in Philadelphia had a lot to do with them becoming a champion. We feel he has us moving in the right direction to be a champion as well.”

HOUSTON – Houston Astros single-game tickets for the 2010 Major League Baseball regular season games at Minute Maid Park will go on sale to the general public tomorrow, February 19 at 9:00 a.m. Tickets can be purchased online at www.astros.com, at the Astros Spanish website, www.astrosdehouston.com, at the ballpark Box Office on Texas Avenue or by phone toll free at 1-877-9ASTROS (1-877-927-8767).

Ticketmaster retail centers in all Fiesta and select Macy’s, H-E-B, F.Y.E., Wherehouse Music and Ritmo Latino stores will sell Astros tickets during store hours. Fans may purchase up to eight tickets per person for the Opening Day contest on Monday, April 5, against the San Francisco Giants. The purchase limit for all other games is 19 tickets. The complete 2010 Astros schedule can be found on www.astros.com.

HOUSTON, TX - The Houston Astros announced today that the club has agreed to terms with three right-handed pitchers on their 40-man roster on one-year contracts with the corresponding Major League values: Yorman Bazardo, $400,000; Evan Englebrook, $400,000; and Jeff Fulchino, $425,000. The announcement was made by General Manager Ed Wade.

Bazardo, 25, went 1-3 with a 7.88 ERA (28ER/32IP) in 10 games, six starts, for Houston in 2009. He spent the majority of his season at Triple A Round Rock, where he posted a 9-6 record and a 3.20 ERA (48ER/135IP) in 23 games, including 20 starts. He was named a Pacific Coast League All-Star and finished third in the league in ERA. Bazardo has appeared in 25 Major League games with Florida (2005), Detroit (2007-08) and Houston (2009) and owns a 3-4 career record with a 6.86 ERA (46ER/60.1IP).

HOUSTON – The University of Houston baseball team began preparations Friday afternoon for the start of the 2010 season with the team’s first full practice.

The 34 members of the Cougar baseball team took to the field for more than two hours, in the first organized workouts since their fall practice session. UH opens the season on Feb. 19-21 with a three-game home series against Texas State.

Head coach Rayner Noble returns much of his team from a year ago that finished fourth in Conference USA and went 2-2 in the 2009 Conference USA Tournament. Among those returners are senior catcher Chris Wallace, junior pitcher Jared Ray, junior shortstop Blake Kelso and sophomore pitcher Michael Goodnight.