Sampson Called Up, Gallo Back
June 2, 2006 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Round Rock Express News Release
For Chris Sampson, the biggest gamble of his life paid off on Friday.
The 28-year-old right-hander, who left professional baseball for three years to focus on training himself to pitch, was called up by the Houston Astros. Sampson led the Pacific Coast League with a 7-1 record and had won six consecutive decisions for the Express.
He will be replaced by former Express pitcher Mike Gallo, who was 1-2 with a 6.06 earned-run average over 23 appearances for Houston this season. This will be Gallo's fourth stint with Round Rock, where he first appeared in 2002 as a 25-year-old.
Sampson was drafted by Houston in the eighth round of the 1999 draft and hit .239 with 21 stolen bases with Single-A Auburn as a shortstop that year. He took the next three years off before returning to pro baseball in 2003, this time as a starting pitcher for Single-A Lexington.
He went 7-11 with a 3.80 earned-run average with Single-A Salem in 2004 and posted a 3.12 ERA with Double-A Corpus Christi in 2005. Before his call-up, Sampson held hitters to a .228 batting average, issues just five walks to the 238 hitters he faced and carved out a 2.64 ERA.
Sampson was also 12-for-23 (.522) with a double, three RBI and six runs as a regular and pinch-hitter.
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