Pete Incaviglia

Inky played his first season in Houston in 1992, just a couple years after playing for that other Texas ball club to the north. In '98 he came back to the Astros to finish out his major league career. He also played with the Tigers, Orioles, Phillies and Yankees. Pete also played a year in Japan, between a stint with the Phillies.

After retiring from the majors as a player Pete was on the coaching staff for Detroit's AA team. After doing that for a few years he became the head coach for the Grand Prairie AirHogs. I sent these two cards to Inky care of this independant team from the American Association on 5/1/09 and received them back on 5/30/09.

Ron Cook

Ron Cook played two years in the majors; both years were with the Astros. During his rookie year he had an ERA of 3.72 and pitched in 82.1 innings. He played in 41 games that year. The '71 season was his last season in the majors. He played in only 5 games that year, finishing up on 9/16/71.

Cook saw some action in the minors prior to and after his stint in Houston. His last game was in '73 with the AA Denver Bears.

Sent off TTM on 10/5/99; received 10/10/99

Jose Cruz, Sr., "Cheo"

Every time I think of Cruz I hear J. Fred Duckett yelling "Jose Cruuuuuuuuuuuz!"

Jose, aka 'Cheo' began his major league career with the Cardinals on 9/19/70 (the day after Jimi Hendrix left this world and five days before I entered it). In 1975 he began playing for Houston, and would do so until '87. He spent his last year playing with the Yankees.

I saw Cruz play one time back in '83; the next time I saw him on the field in Houston he was coaching first base.

*2x All-Star selection (1980, 1985)
*2x Silver Slugger Award winner (1983, 1984)
*ranked 2nd in most games played by an Astro (Biggio now holds this honor)

In 1992 Cruz's #25 was retired. In 2003 he was inducted into the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame.

I sent these cards off 4/27/09 and received them back today. (I have an extra of the '81 Donruss that I would be willing to trade for an Astro that I do not have).

Doug Konieczny

Doug Konieczny made his major league debut towards the end of the 1973 season with the Astros. He played in Houston until the first part of the '77 season. He was originally drafted by the Tigers in 1969 but did not sign. In '71 he signed a contract with Houston (the 4th pick in the first round of the Secondary Phase). He went back and forth from the minors to the majors, but did play one full season at the 'Dome (1975).

I sent this card off on 6/29/09 and received it back in the mail on 7/16/09.

Joe Niekro

I'm back from a 25 mile canoe trip in the Ozarks and I'm ready to post some more cards (and forget about my sun burned feet and legs).

Here's a card of Joe Niekro I bought on eBay. I never had a chance to obtain a signed Niekro card either through the mail or in person, so I bought this one.

Joe made his debut in '67 with the Cubs. He played the majority of his career with the Astros (1975-85). Over all, he played 22 seasons and with a total of 7 clubs. During his time with Houston he was an All-Star selection in 1977 and the 1979 NL The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year. Additionally, he pitched in the World Series with the Twins in 1987.

Joe was known for his knuckleball, hence the nickname "Knucksie".

His only major league home run was pitched to him by his brother Phil on 5/29/76. I wonder how many times that has happened in pro baseball.

Joe died 10/26/06 of a brain aneurysm.

Barry Latman

Barry Latman played in the major leagues for eleven years; the last two (1966-67) were in Houston. He made two appearances in the All-Star games with Cleveland during the early '60s.

Willie Mays hit his first grand slam off of Latman on 6/13/67.

I sent Barry this card (1967 Topps #28) in early June, only to have it returned (turns out he had moved). I found a new address and dropped it back in the mail on June 29th and got it back today.

Skip Guinn...again

I finally got around to scanning my first Skip Guinn card. The card from the previous post was obtained from a large lot of cards won on eBay; this one was sent off to Skip several years ago for him to sign. Sent off on 11/1/99; received 1126/99

I like these old 1970 cards. This is probably my favorite set, followed closely by the 1963, '65, and '76 sets. This one shows Skip in a classic posed shot, thinking seriously about what pitch to throw. Gotta love it! This also is the second card from the early '70s that I've seen with a cop or security card standing close by in the background. I can't think of too many recent cards like this.