PCL1 Oklahoma City Comets

Houston Astros Announce Updated List of Caravan Participants

Published on January 19, 2011 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City, Okla.-The Houston Astros winter caravan will visit Oklahoma City on January 18th and 19th. The Astros, the new Major League affiliate of the Oklahoma City RedHawks, announced an updated list of caravan participants today. Former Astros first baseman Jeff Bagwell is no longer scheduled to attend.

Astros pitchers Brandon Lyon and Bud Norris, manager Brad Mills, hall-of-fame broadcaster Milo Hamilton, and Astros 2010 Minor League Pitcher of the Year Jordan Lyles are scheduled to appear in Oklahoma City.

The caravan stop will include a private reception with RedHawks season ticket holders on Tuesday, January 18th from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Bricktown Ballpark. Prior to the reception, media will have the opportunity to conduct interviews from 6:00-6:30 p.m. Fans who are not currently RedHawks season ticket holders may attend the event by purchasing a 7-game, partial, half, or full-season ticket package by calling (405) 218- 1000 or visiting okcredhawks.com. Being a season ticket holder will also allow for the opportunity to purchase tickets to the Astros exhibition game in Oklahoma City on March 29th before they go on sale to the general public. This game will feature the Houston Astros against the RedHawks and will be played at 6:30 p.m. at Bricktown Ballpark.

Also on January 18th, the Astros caravan will visit the Children's Hospital at OU Medical Center and the Jimmy Everest Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders in Children. On January 19th, the group will visit a local elementary school and Tinker Air Force Base (see media coverage information of Tinker Air Force Base visit at conclusion of this release). The caravan will also visit Academy Sports + Outdoors, 7700 South Walker Avenue, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on January 19th. The visit to Academy Sports + Outdoors is the only portion of the caravan visit that is open to the public.

Lyon has spent the last nine seasons in the Major Leagues and will enter his second season with the Astros in 2011. He notched 20 saves in 22 opportunities in 2010, marking the second time in his career that he has posted at least 20 saves. Lyon has pitched in more than 60 games over each of the last five seasons.

Norris finished third among Astros pitchers in victories, innings, and starts in 2010. He improved as the season continued in his first full year in the big leagues, going 7-4 with a 4.18 earned run average in 15 starts after the all-star break. He allowed two runs or less in four of his last five starts. Norris notched a career-high 14 strikeouts in a start against Pittsburgh on August 14, the most by a Houston pitcher in seven years. He finished the season with a record of 9-10 with a 4.92 ERA.

Mills will enter his second season as Astros manager in 2011. After enduring a slow start to the 2010 season, he guided the club to a record of 59-52 over the final four months of the year. Mills spent the previous six seasons as bench coach for Terry Francona with the Boston Red Sox.

Hamilton has served as a play-by-play announcer for Major League teams since 1953 and received the Ford Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992. Hamilton has spent the past 26 years as the Astros broadcaster and was inducted into the National Radio Hall-of-Fame in 2000. Hamilton's voice was immortalized with his famous call of Hank Aaron's record-breaking home run in 1974 (Aaron's 715 career homer that surpassed Babe Ruth as baseball's all-time leader).

Lyles, just 20 years old, has already reached the Triple-A level and could pitch in Oklahoma City in 2011. He was the Astros supplemental first round draft pick in 2009 out of Hartsville (S.C.) High School. Lyles, rated the # 1 prospect in the Astros organization by Baseball America entering the 2011 season, spent most of the year with Double-A Corpus Christi, going 7-9 with a 3.12 ERA. He finished the season with six starts in the Pacific Coast League with Round Rock.

The Astros exhibition game in Oklahoma City on March 29th will mark the start to a big season for the RedHawks. The RedHawks' home opener is set for Friday, April 15th when they host the Albuquerque Isotopes. They open the Pacific Coast League season eight days earlier, on Thursday, April 7th at the Memphis Redbirds.

Individuals and companies with inquiries about season tickets, stadium suites, corporate sponsorship opportunities, or other information are encouraged to contact Mandalay Baseball Properties via the Oklahoma City RedHawks offices at (405) 218-1000, or via email at okc@mandalay.com.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from January 19, 2011


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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