Lee Thomas

Lee Thomas started his career in the minors with the Yankees in 1955. In 1961 he finally broke into the majors; however, after only playing two games for New York, he was traded to the Angels, which was a new expansion team that year. After a couple years in LA he played briefly for the Red Sox, the Braves, and the Cubs before ending up in Houston in 1968.

Lee finished out his playing career in Japan in 1969 but by the early '70s went back to the minors as a coach for St. Louis. He eventually ended up in the front office. He also spent time in the front office of the Phillies and was once named Executive of the Year for all of Major League Baseball. He has also worked for the Red Sox and Brewers as part of their staff.

Thomas is currently a scout for the Astros.

(Card was mailed 10/28/09 and received back on 11/10/09)

Domingo Jean

Domingo Jean, initially signed by the White Sox, only played one season in the majors (ten games as a matter of fact), and that was with the New York Yankees. The Yankees traded Domingo Jean to Houston for Xavier Hernandez in November of 1993. He never played on the pro level as an Astro but did play two seasons in Tucson before being traded to the Rangers for Roger Luce (never heard of this guy but I'm willing to bet we're related).

Jean continued to play for nearly ten years in the minors after his brief stint with the Houston organization. He retired in 2003 after a shoulder injury. Currently he is teaching others at his training academy in Florida, the Domingo Jean Baseball Academy. You can learn more by visiting his website.

Brian Hunter

Brian Hunter was signed in 1989 by Houston in the 2nd round of the amateur draft. He played several seasons in the minors, including stints with the Gulf Coast League Astros, Asheville Tourists, Osceola Astros, Jackson Generals, and finally Tucson Toros in 1994. During the '94 season he was bumped up to the majors and would remail in Houston through 1996. On December 10, 1996 he was traded with Doug Brocail, Todd Jones, and Orlando Miller to the Detroit Tigers for Brad Ausmus, Jose Lima, Trever Miller, C.J. Nitkowski and Daryle Ward.

While he was with Detroit he led the American League with 74 stolen bases (1997).

He also had somewhat brief stints with the Mariners (where he again let the AL in stolen bases, this time in '99), Rockies, Reds, and Phillies from 1999-2001. But, by 2002 he would return to Houston for two more seasons.

Ron Brand

Brand was selected by the Houston Colt .45s in the 1964 rule 5 draft. He had originally been signed by the Pirates, where he played several years in the minors and one in the majors (1963). So, after spending all of 1964 on one of Pittsburgh's farm teams, he would then become an Astro. Ron and John Bateman would be the two main catchers for the Astros. Both eventually ended up being drafted by the Expos in 1968.

Ron hit a triple for the Astros first hit in the 'Dome on April 9, 1965 in an exhibition game against the Yankees.

Jose Lima, 1972-2010

Today Jose Lima, former Astro, passed away due to a massive heart attack. Jose became a part of the Astros in 1997. He played for Houston through part of the 2001 season. In fact, though he played for several different teams he spent the majority of his career in Houston, compiling a 46-42 record from 1997-2001.



"It saddened me greatly to hear of Jose's passing," Astros owner Drayton McLane said. "He was truly a gifted person both on the field and off of it. He could dance, he could sing, but his best gift of all was that he was an extremely happy person. He just lit up our clubhouse with his personality, which was his greatest asset. Jose was not shortchanged in life in any way. He lived life to the fullest every day."

James Mouton

James Mouton was selected by Houston in the 7th round of the 1991 amateur draft. He played for the Astros on the major league level from 1994 to 1997. By the next season he had traded to the Padres for Sean Bergman. After a year in San Diego he would play two more seasons, this time for the Brewers.

While checking out the internet to see what Mr. Mouton has been up to these days, I ran across a website for the Fort Bend Texans Sports Association, which feature several former Houston players. It seems Mouton was a guest coach recently. I believe I might have read once where he was coaching on the minor league level; then again, I might be confusing him with someone else.

Round Rock Express

I attended my first minor league game this week. I'm currently in Austin, TX, which is just down the road from Round Rock, home of the Express. The Memphis Redbirds were in town and I attended the only home game that was held this week. Too bad this conference wasn't held in Houston so I could see the 'Stros in action. Back when I was doing parole I attended annual conferences every November and would take in a Rockets game while I was in town. Living out in the sticks has a tendency to make you want to catch all the games when you're in the big city.

I had a chance to see the Redbirds several years while visiting friends in Memphis. We stood outside the stadium but never bothered to go in and watch the game.

Anyway, I thought I'd make use of the free wifi in the hotel lobby and post a few photos. I think I did more walking around and taking pictures than actually sitting.