February 21, 2024: Astros Crawfish Boil.

Hi everybody, and welcome to Chapter 108 of Everystros on Humpday Boil.

This is the final Humpday Boil without baseball for a bit.

News about the Houston Astros

Spring Training Bingo of the 2024 Astros (Chipalatta)

Why the Astros are more flexible with Yordan Alvarez in the outfield (Chron)

Reliever for the Astros hoping to earn a spot in the bullpen while participating in spring training in his hometown (KHOU)

Yordan Alvarez is becoming a more vocal leader for the Houston Astros (Houston Chronicle)

The Houston Astros are launching MLB Go-Ahead Entry, which allows for ticketless entry (biometric update)

Hunter Brown working on fresh ideas and expanding on 2023

20. Joe Niekro (26.57) was a right-handed pitcher from Martins Ferry, Ohio, who stood six feet one. He was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the seventh round of the 1966 draft out of West Liberty University. He was born on November 7, 1944. After deciding not to sign, the Chicago Cubs selected him in the third round of the June draft secondary phase later in the year.

After Niekro’s career began in 1967, he played for the Cubs, the San Diego Padres (8–17, 3.70, 202 IP, 55 K), the Detroit Tigers (21–22, 2 saves, 4.17, 382 1⁄3 IP, 168 K), and the Atlanta Braves (5–6, three saves, 3.76, 67 IP, 43 K). Niekro spent his first two and a half seasons with Chicago (24–18, two saves, 3.83, 366 1⁄3 IP, 149 K).

Niekro gave the Astros 40 “signature startsTM” in his 11 seasons with the team.

Niekro defeated the Cubs 1-0 on July 29, 1977, by striking out six batters in a four-hitter. He won the game 2-1 on July 17, 1978, pitching 11 innings and allowing the Phillies to score only one run on five hits while striking out eight batters. He pitched a five-hitter on April 8, 1979, striking out seven and walking none to defeat Atlanta 2-0. Niekro won 1-0 against San Diego on September 17, 1979, pitching the entire game while giving up six hits and a walk to the Padres.

Niekro shut out the Phillies for one run in the first ten innings in a 12-inning, 2-1 victory on May 18, 1982, while also striking out seven of them. He outdueled the Mets 2-0 on August 23 by pitching a four-hitter and striking out four. Five days later, in his next start, he defeated the Montreal Expos 2-0 by striking out four and pitching a six-hitter. On September 18, he pitched a two-hitter to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-0, striking out three and walking none.

On June 8, 1983, Niekro pitched 10 innings in an 11-inning victory over the Giants, giving up 10 hits, 7 strikeouts, and 1 walk. On July 14, he struck out three and walked none as he tossed a three-hitter that helped the Expos lose 3-0. On June 9, 1985, he won 5-0 over San Francisco by striking out four and walking only one batter while allowing the Giants to muster just two hits over nine scoreless innings.

The Astros sold Niekro to the New York Yankees on September 15, 1985, in exchange for PTBNLs Neder Horta and Dody Rather, Jim Deshaies, and Niekro. Niekro pitched in parts of two seasons (5-10, 6.67, 108 IP, 61 K) with the Minnesota Twins after spending three seasons with the Bombers (14–15, 4.58, 188 2–23 IP, 93 K). Following his retirement, he spent two seasons coaching pitchers for the Portland Sea Dogs, the Twins’ Triple-A club. He died on October 27, 2006, from a brain aneurysm.

19. Refugio, Texas-born Nolan Ryan (32.90) is a six-foot-two right-handed pitcher. Born on January 31, 1947, he went from Alvin High School to the New York Mets in 1965 as a 12th-round selection. He was a competent pitcher.

In his first season of eligibility, the Ryan Express eventually chugged all the way to the Baseball Hall of Fame with over 99 percent of the vote. In 1966, he made his major league debut with the Mets, where he spent five seasons (29–38, two saves, 3.58, 510 IP, 493 K). After that, he pitched with the California Angels for eight seasons (138-121, 3.07, 2181 1 1/3 IP, 2,416 K, one save, five All-Star Games). In seven of his eight seasons with the team, he led the American League in strikeouts while pitching 40 shutouts and 156 complete games. Ryan signed a free agent contract with the Astros on November 19, 1979.

Niekro’s contract was acquired by the Astros from Atlanta on April 6, 1975, for $35,000.

On July 22, 1986, Ryan won 1-0 over the Expos by striking out 14 batters and walking four, giving Montreal only one hit over 9 1⁄3 innings. In a 4-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants on September 9, 1987, he struck out 16 batters in eight innings while giving up two runs on six hits and two walks.

Ryan was selected to the All-Star Team twice while he was in Houston: in 1981 and 1985. In 1987, he had an NL-leading 2.76 ERA, 270 strikeouts, a 2.47 FIP, 6.5 H/9, and 11.5 K/9. He led the majors in H/9 just once out of four occasions while he was on the squad.

Niekro spent many years as a player for numerous clubs, although he never pitched for any club longer than Houston. He amassed a 144-116 record, nine saves, a 3.22 ERA, and a 1.264 WHIP over the most of 11 seasons. Over the course of 2,270 innings, he struck out 1,178 and walked 818, limiting opponents to a.243/.310/.338 slash line. Niekro pitched 18 scoreless innings altogether in two postseason games with the Astros, one in 1980 and one in 1981. He walked four and gave up 13 hits for an SSS WHIP of 0.944, but for some reason, Houston lost both games and the series.

Houston declined to sign Ryan for his age-42 season for an unknown reason. That proved to be an error. For the Texas Rangers, he threw in five more major league seasons (51-39, 3.43, 840 IP, 939 K). It was during that tenure that he pitched 15 complete games, six shutouts, and two more no-hitters. Ryan’s 5,714 and 6.6 lifetime HR/9 are still major-league records as of his retirement.

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