1986 – Pitcher Mark Ross is traded for himself. Ross was dealt to St. Louis in December for a player to be named later. After no agreement could be reached, that player to be named became Mark Ross.
1983 – Astros deal catcher Alan Knicely to Cincinnati for pitcher Bill Dawley and outfielder Tony Walker. Another in the long line of catching prospects, Knicely bats .197 over parts of four seasons.
2011 – X-rays reveal that shortstop Clint Barmes has a broken left hand after it was hit the night before in an exhibition game against the Yankees. The initial diagnosis is 4-to-6 weeks of healing needed, which will cause him to miss the first month of the season.
1991 – State Senators pass a bill to rename a part of State Highway 288 the “Nolan Ryan Expressway”. The highway passes near the Astrodome on its way through Ryan’s boyhood hometown of Alvin.
1968 – Future Astro teammates Shane Reynolds and Jose Vizcaino are born. Reynolds is born in Bastrop, LA. Vizcaino is delivered in San Cristobal, DR. They would play together in Houston for the 2001 and 2002 seasons.
1987 – A sign of things to come. Astros lose their home spring opener to Montreal, 19-3. Bob Knepper and Jeff Heathcock are knocked silly before the bullpen comes to the rescue. Five Houston errors worsen the mood. Knepper would slump from a 17-12 1986 season to 8-17 the next year, his ERA climbing by over two runs.
2010 – Brad Mills’ managerial debut is a 15-5 Astros victory over a split squad of Washington Nationals. Hunter Pence gives the new skipper a happy send-off with two homers in the fourth inning during a nine-run frame which turned the momentum.
1978 – Rodrigo Rosario is born in La Romana, DR. The slender Dominican righthander wins his 2003 big league debut in memorable fashion but lands on the DL after injuring himself in his second start.
1966 – Andy Mota is born in Santo Domingo, DR. A September call-up during the 1991 season, the second baseman bats .189 in 27 games. His father Manny Mota was with the Houston franchise in the spring of 1963 but was traded before the regular season began.
February 14