Norm Miller

Signed by the Los Angeles Angels as an amateur free agent, Norm Miller would began his career in Houston as a result of the 1964 first-year draft. He was drafted by the Colt .45s in November and put on the Astros jersey the following season.

His first game was on September 11, 1965 in Los Angeles. In he top of the 8th inning he pinch hit for Danny Coombs and hit a single that advanced Ron Brand to second. Unfortunately the Dodgers beat the Astros 8-3 that game.

In April of 1973 Miller was traded to the Braves for Cecil Upshaw. He would play in Atlanta again in '74; the next year he was picked up by the Dodgers but then released.

According to his website for his book, 'To all my fans from Norm Who?', he has worked 30-plus years in marketing and advertising and "for the past 13 years (has) been associated with a publicly–traded bank headquartered in Houston".

Pete Harnisch

Pete Harnisch was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 1st round (27th pick) of the 1987 amateur draft on June 2, 1987.

On January 10, 1991 he was traded with Steve Finley and Curt Schilling to the Astros for Glenn Davis. While in Houston he was on the '91 All-Star team. Also that year he struck out three batters on nine pitches against the Phillies, making him the 17th person in the NL and the 26th in Major League history to do so.

By November 1993 he was traded to the New York Mets for players to be named later. The New York Mets sent Todd Beckerman (minors) (December 6, 1994) and Juan Castillo (April 12, 1995) to the Houston Astros to complete the trade.



Baltimore Orioles (1988-1990)
Houston Astros (1991-1994)
New York Mets (1995-1997)
Milwaukee Brewers (1997)
Cincinnati Reds (1998-2001)

Cliff Johnson...and my radio debut

Cliff Johnson was drafted by the Astros in 1966 in the 5th round. After a few years in the minors he made his major league debut on September 13, 1972.

By 1977 he was traded to the Yankees for Mike Fischlin, Randy Niemann and a player to be named later; the Yankees sent Dave Bergman (November 23, 1977) to the Astros to complete the trade.

During his career he also played for the Indians, Cubs, A's, Blue Jays, and ended up back in Texas with the Rangers before retiring in 1985.

Career highlights and awards:
World Series championship- 1977, 1978
Hit a Major League record 20 career home runs as a pinch hitter


In other news...

I had the privilege of being the guest on the morning show at KBHT 93.5 today. A good buddy of mine is the morning DJ, Jake "the Snake" Austin, and he asked me last week to be on today's Snake Farm (as his show is called; you Ray Wiley Hubbard fans will make the connection).

I had no idea this little ol' blog would be discussed; if I had I would have given a link to their web broadcast so all my loyal followers out there in baseball card blogland could listen in.

Dave Giusti

Dave Giusti was signed by the Colt .45s in 1961 as an amateur free agent. He would eventually be traded by the Astros on October 11, 1968 with Dave Adlesh to the St. Louis Cardinals for Tommy Smith (minors) and Johnny Edwards.

A starter with the Colts and Astros, he was known for his palm ball.


Teams:
Houston Colt .45's/Astros (1962-1968)
St. Louis Cardinals (1969)
Pittsburgh Pirates (1970-1976)
Oakland Athletics (1977)
Chicago Cubs (1977)

Career highlights and awards:
All-Star (NL) 1973
Led NL in saves in 1971 with 30

After retiring from baseball Dave was an executive with American Express.

Doug Jones

Doug Jones was drafted by Milwaukee in 1978. He eventually played six seasons with the Indians before signing with the Astros in 1992. He played the next season with the 'Stros before being traded along with Jeff Juden to the Phillies for Mitch Williams.

Jones, a relief pitcher, was known for his slow pitches that could always get the better of hitters that faced him. At the time of his retirement he was 12th in the majors with 303 saves.




5x All-Star selection (1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994)

Taylor Buchholz

Drafted in 2000 by the Phillies for their minor league system, Buchholz was traded to Houston on November 3, 2003 along with Ezequiel Astacio and Brandon Duckworth for Billy Wagner. His first season with the Astros organization was spent in New Orleans, followed by two seasons in Round Rock with the Express. While in Round Rock he was called up during the 2006 season but was later sent back down to the Express that same year.

On December 12, 2006 he was traded along with Jason Hirsh and Willy Taveras to the Colorado Rockies for Miguel Asencio and Jason Jennings.

Bryant Nelson

Bryant Nelson was drafted by Houston in 1993. He never played any major league games while with Houston, but did play in their minor league organization.

He was released by Houston in 1997. He was eventually picked up by Boston and played one season in the majors with them (2002).

Nelson currently plays in the Atlantic League with the Camden Riversharks.