New TCB Astros Staff Member: HOF4BGO

Hey everyone, I'm HOF4BGO, and I'm the newest staff member here at TCB. I grew up in the Houston area and have been an Astros fan since I was a little kid. I grew up during the Killer B era, but didn't really become obsessed with the team until the exciting playoff runs of 2004 and 2005. I now have a beautiful wife and two precious daughters, who I am in the process of successfully molding into Astros fanatics (more on that later).

I thought I'd take this opportunity to share some of my favorite Astros memories as a way to introduce myself and for us all to reminisce on the rich history of our favorite team:

Best Game: I was there when Biggio got his 3,000th career hit against Aaron Cook of the Colorado Rockies on June 28, 2007. If Biggio's 5 hits weren't enough, Carlos Lee's walk off grand slam in extra innings definitely solidified that as the best game I've ever attended.

Favorite Short-Tenure Astros: I liked all the obvious Astros growing up (Biggio, Bagwell, Berkman, etc.), but the two guys I really liked who never made it to quite that level of fame were Willy Taveras and Luke Scott. I still remember that Taveras had a 30-game hit streak, which ended on a game when he was hit by a pitch twice. I was also at the game when Luke Scott became the first Astros rookie to hit for the cycle.

Craziest Moment at a Game: This one happened just a couple years ago. I was at the game with my wife and Altuve was batting. I called him "Josito" because in Spanish, you add "-ito" to some words to make them small (e.g. "burrito" means a small "burro", or donkey). Since Jose is such a small player, I thought it was a clever nickname. My wife, who got her degree in Spanish and knew that Josito was not a real name, didn't agree. Sticking to my guns, I yelled "Let's Go Josito!!!" as loud as I could. On the very next pitch, he absolutely crushed a ball... just to the left of the foul pole. "He would have kept it fair if you would have called him by his real name" my wife said. To appease her, I then yelled "Let's Go Jose!!!" as loud as I could. On the very next pitch, he hit a HR into the Crawford Boxes. I have never called him Josito since then.

Most Interesting Autograph: I got Jeff Bagwell's autograph a couple times, which may not sound all that interesting at first. I went to FanFest with my Dad one year and got him to sign a ball. In the car afterward, I was looking over the ball, admiring the signature. I suddenly noticed that the word "CHINA" on the ball had been crossed out. I instantly remembered hearing that Bagwell was known to cross that out when he signed balls in objection to the fact that everything we use, even for one of America's greatest pastimes, is made in China. What stunned me the most was that I had stood a foot away as he signed the ball, but didn't notice him cross it out.

Other miscellaneous tidbits:

• I had an Astros hat from the late 90s (the shooting star logo) that I wore until it broke... then I taped it and kept wearing it until it broke again... then I stapled it, added more tape, and kept wearing it until I got engaged to my wife (marriage is about compromise, right?).
• My wife does like the Astros, but in an effort to get her even more interested, I decided that we should buy furniture from Gallery Furniture a couple years ago during the 63-win promotion. It totally worked. She was definitely interested in finding out whether or not we would get our money back. She became more interested in the Astros and we got free furniture. It was a win-win.
• My oldest daughter will turn 3 this summer and is already a big fan. Her favorite things to say at the game are "Go Astros!", "Hit the ball!!", and "Colby Jack!!". She even made it onto the Root Sports broadcast one night when she was decked out in her cute Astros dress.