1992 – Jeff Bagwell comes off the bench to club a solo homer in the eighth that ties the Pirates at 4-4. He then tags Roger Mason in the tenth with another blast to cap a 6-4 victory.
1992 – Jeff Bagwell slams a two-run tenth-inning shot off Randy Myers to claim a 4-2 win over San Diego. Craig Biggio has four hits.
1992 – Democratic presidential contender Bill Clinton stops by the Astros training camp for pictures and autographs prior to an exhibition game with the Boston Red Sox. Florida and Texas both have primaries the next day. Clinton does not stay for the game.
1992 – Astros’ broadcaster Milo Hamilton is named the annual Ford C. Frick Award winner for major contributions to baseball. He will be honored in July at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. Hamilton becomes the 16th announcer to win the award since it began.
1992 – Outfielder Luis Gonzalez breaks two bones in his nose when he is struck by a pitching machine during indoor drills. The machine had one pitch left when Gonzo began picking up balls around the batting cage.
1992 – Two years after it was first disclosed that Dr. John McMullen is looking to sell the Astros, he is no closer to finding a buyer. Complicating matters are a $100 million dollar bid from a Japanese group for the Seattle Mariners and McMullen’s minority stake in a horse racing track to be built outside of Houston. Another group is offering to buy the team and move it to Washington, DC. McMullen, who had earlier nixed an $86 million dollar offer for the club, says the record price for the Mariners is not too high. He cites the Denver and Miami expansion clubs, to begin play in 1993, paid $95 million dollars apiece to join.
1992 – In a rare spending spree, the Astros sign four free agents, pitchers Joe Boever and Rob Murphy along with infielders Ernest Riles and Denny Walling. It’s the end of the line for Walling who spent eleven years previously in Houston, a vital man in two division champions during the eighties. He’s forced out with a knee injury after three at bats. None of the others are in Houston the following season.
1992 – Houston signs outfielder Pete Incaviglia and reliever Doug Jones as free agents. Jones would become the club MVP that season, leading the team with 11 wins and 36 saves with a 1.85 ERA. He either won or saved over half of Houston’s victories that year. Incaviglia wasn’t too bad either, hitting .266 with 11 homers in part-time duty while tying the club record with seven RBIs in a game against the Giants.
1991 – Outfielder Kenny Lofton is traded to the Cleveland Indians for catcher Ed Taubensee. While Taubensee becomes an adequate receiver, Lofton becomes one of the top players of the decade. In a separate deal, Houston also sends infielder Dave Rhode to Cleveland for righthander Willie Blair.
1991 – Houston has a tentative deal in place with the Chicago White Sox. The Sox want pitcher Mark Portugal and are expected to trade a disappointing outfielder who hit just .203 after being acquired from the Texas Rangers. Eventually, the White Sox find a better offer for Sammy Sosa and the deal never happens.
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