David Matranga is born in Orange, CA. The injury call-up is 1-for-5 in his big league career but he is only the second Astro to homer in his first major league at bat.
1976 – Lance Berkman is born in Waco, TX. The Rice grad was a major power source with the Astros, leading the league in RBIs in 2002. In 12 seasons (1999-2010), he batted .296 while powering 326 home runs and driving in 1090 runs. He hit .321 with six homers in postseason play.
December 29, 1973 – Philip G. Epstein, an American screenwriter best known, along with his identical twin, Julius, and Howard Koch, for writing the 1942 Academy Award-winning screenplay for Casablanca, welcomes his fraternal twin grandsons into the world… In twenty-eight years, the 60-second younger brother of Paul, Theo, will become the youngest GM in the…
May 6, 1972: Legendary San Francisco Giants OF Willie Mays enjoys a slice of birthday cake that was presented to him by the Phillies on his 41st birthday. (Mays would be traded to the Mets five days later.)
1972 – Jay Powell is born in Meridian, MS. As a reliever, he wins eleven games and loses ten over four seasons as an Astro, saving eight games and closing the pennant clincher on the last day of the 1999 regular season.
1971 – Two former Houston first round draft choices are born on this day. Infielder Phil Nevin is born in Fullerton, CA. The first pick overall in the 1992 June draft, Nevin tries management’s patience before being traded to Detroit. Pitcher Jeff Juden is born in Salem, MA. The 6-8 righthander is the 12th overall pick in the 1989 draft but would record just a 0-3 record before being dealt.
1969 – Ramon Garcia is born in Guanare, Venezuela. Claimed off the Milwaukee roster on his 27th birthday, the righthander serves up a 9-8 record in 1997 with one save while splitting time between the bullpen and the starting rotation. Injuries prevent him from resuming his big league career.
1969 – Future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey, Jr. is born in Donora, PA, the son of Ken Griffey, Sr., himself an All-Star outfielder who will not make his major league debut until 1973. The two will be the first father/son duo to play together in the major leagues, in 1990, but the younger Griffey will greatly surpass his father’s accomplishments, receiving a record-high percentage of the vote when elected to Cooperstown in 2016.
On May 27, 1968, two future Hall of Famers are born in different cities. Jeff Bagwell is born in Boston, Massachusetts, while Frank Thomas enters the world in Columbus, Georgia. Thomas will make his major league debut in 1990, and Bagwell will follow suit in 1991.
May 6, 1968 Belated Willie Mays birthday photo of when the 1968 Houston Astros gifted him a 569 lb. birthday cake, each pound representing his home runs at that time.
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