Houston Astros Podcast

Robert Ford and Steve Sparks preview Saturday’s day game at Minute Maid Park. RHP Lance McCullers, Jr. takes the mound for the Astros for the first time since having Tommy John surgery in 2018. Ford and Sparks preview the matchup against the Mariners with Pitching Coach Brent Strom. Rookie southpaw Blake Taylor made his Major League debut in Friday’s season opener and he talks about his debut outi...

Baseball is Back! Broadcasters Robert Ford and Steve Sparks break down Friday’s Season Opener as veteran RHP Justin Verlander squares off against Seattle Mariners LHP Marco Gonzales. Manager Dusty Baker, Alex Bregman, and Lance McCullers, Jr. discuss what Opening Day means to them in 2020 as MLB begins its 60-game schedule. The Houston Astros Official Podcast is presented by Karbach Brewing, Craft...

This week General Manager James Click, Manager Dusty Baker, Jose Altuve, Josh James, and Opening Day starter Justin Verlander took questions from sports reporters at Minute Maid Park. Listen back to excerpts from the Summer Camp press conference as the Astros prepare for Opening Day 2020. The Houston Astros Official Podcast is presented by Karbach Brewing, Crafted for Serious Fun. Learn more about...

This week Alex Bregman, Justin Verlander, pitching coach Brent Strom, manager Dusty Baker, Yuli Gurriel and Bryan Abreu took questions from sports reporters at Minute Maid Park. Listen back to excerpts from the Summer Camp press conference as the Astros prepare for Opening Day 2020. But first, it’s Happy Hour with Astros broadcasters Julia Morales-Clarke, Todd Kalas, Geoff Blum, Robert Ford and St...

On Sunday, Manager Dusty Baker, Bench Coach Joe Espada, and IF Aledmys Diaz took questions from sports reporters at Minute Maid Park. Listen back to excerpts from the Summer Camp press conference as the Astros prepare for the July 24th opener against the Seattle Mariners. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Robert Ford and Steve Sparks invite asst. GM Pete Putila to Episode 34 of AstroPod. Putila talks about the landscape of the 2020 roster as players continue to work out at Minute Maid Park during Summer Camp. Putila has been involved with baseball operations with a focus on player development and sports medicine and player performance. “He’s a future general manager in waiting (and) he’s done a gre...

Broadcasters Bill Brown and Steve Sparks analyze the upcoming 2020 60-game season. Which teams are best built for the shortened season? How will gameday strategies affect managerial decisions? How will Dusty Baker and Brent Strom formulate their starting rotation and relief core? Brown and Sparks break down some of the Summer Camp's burning questions. BONUS TRACK: Joe Niekro played 11 seasons in a...

Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Jose Altuve. It’s 4th of July and Summer Camp is in full swing. Six time All Star, Gold Glover and AL MVP Jose Altuve spoke to Houston Media following workouts on Saturday. Manager Dusty Baker answered questions for a second straight day and All Star Chris “Devo” Devenski talked about ramping up to the 2020 season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphon...

Baseball is back and Summer Camp has begun at Minute Maid Park for the Astros. On Friday, general manager James Click and manager Dusty Baker took questions from reporters about preparing their players and rosters for the upcoming 2020 season. Lance McCullers Jr. missed the entire 2019 season due to Tommy John surgery and talks about his physical and mental state and getting back to baseball. Fina...

Geoff Blum was a switch-hitting utility player for the Houston Astros in 2002-’03 and from 2008 through 2010. Originally selected in the 7th round of the 1994 amateur draft by the Montreal Expos, Blum spent 14 seasons in the Major League and played for 7 big league clubs. Now, as a popular television broadcaster, Blummer often enjoys reflecting on his time in an Astros uniform and the Killer B’s. ...

Jose Cruz played 18 seasons in the Major Leagues for the St. Louis Cardinals, Astros and the New York Yankees. Nicknamed “Cheo”, the two-time All Star held Astros franchise records in games played, at-bats, hits, total bases and triples at the time of his retirement in 1988. Currently, his 80 career triples remains a franchise record. Cruz and longtime Astros broadcaster Bill Brown sit down to dis...

Major League Baseball officially announced a plan to return to play in 2020 which will lead up to a 60-game regular season schedule. Broadcasters Todd Kalas and Steve Sparks analyze the recent announcement and discuss what this means for the Houston Astros and the world of baseball. General Manager James Click joins Sparky and TK for an in-depth conversation about what happens now? What are the pr...

There's more to baseball than what fans see and hear on the field. Oftentimes, our eyes and ears of the ballpark come from our favorite broadcasters, photographers and reporters who cover this game each day and every day, with or without games being played. Brian McTaggart is a fan favorite who has been reporting, traveling and writing about the Houston Astros for 17 seasons and is the author of "...

Nobody in Astros history has played, pitched, hit, Managed, broadcast, or wore Hawaiian shirts like baseball legend Larry Dierker. Mr. Astro began his career on his 18th birthday pitching for the Colt 45’s in 1964. A x2 All Star, Dierker played 14 seasons in the Big Leagues and threw a no-hitter against the Montreal Expos in the Astrodome. From 1997 through 2001, Dierker Managed the Astros and was...

El Podcast en español mas reciente de Astros de Houston tiene como invitado al jugador utility de ascendencia Cubana, Aledmys Díaz.  Francisco Romero y Alex Treviño, los anfitriones del Podcast. Díaz nos relata, en una platica muy amena, varios aspectos de su vida y su paso por el béisbol Mexicano. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Astros selected 2 pitchers, an outfielder and a shortstop in the 2020 MLB Draft. In Episode 26, broadcasters Todd Kalas, Steve Sparks and Brian Bogusevic analyze Houston’s picks and discuss how these players fit into the organization. Bogusevic was a 2-way player at Tulane University (pitcher/OF) and was selected in the first round of the 2005 MLB Draft by the Astros. Bogusevic, now a broadcas...

Cy Sneed was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in Round 3 of the 2014 MLB Draft. Traded to the Astros in 2015, Cy Sneed made his big league debut out of the bullpen in June of 2019. Sneed is a young prospect who is preparing for the 2020 season at his home in Kenai, Alaska. Broadcaster Todd Kalas spent some time talking to Sneed, who took questions from youngsters as part of the Astros Buddies and...

3B/Outfield Coach Gary Pettis played 14 season in the Major Leagues. Pettis roamed the outfield from 1982-1992 for x4 MLB teams, stole 354 bases, lead the league in several defensive categories, and was a x5 Gold Glove Award winner. In Episode 24, Steve Sparks and Robert Ford discuss Pettis’ accomplished career, growing up in Oakland and playing with superstars Rickey Hendrson, Dave Stewart, Lloyd...

Joe Biagini was traded to Houston in July of 2019 and pitches in relief for the Astros. Biagini is also known for pitching comedy relief to his teammates, fans, and to the media. In Episode 23, Todd Kalas and Steve Sparks share some laughs as they discuss what Biagini has been doing during the pandemic. From street yoga to Jimmy Fallon to Bob Ross to baseball, Biagini takes us down a convoluted-co...

Broadcasters Geoff Blum and Steve Sparks talk about the recent headlines surrounding the 2020 season. In Episode 22, they also tell us why the 22nd Manager in Astros History is the perfect person for the job. Making his 2nd appearance on Astro Pod since MLB’s March 12th announcement to halt play, Baker says he’s checking in with his players often. “Just to check on them and to see how their state...

He's a Texas Longhorn with a trophy room as big as the Lone Star State. In a remarkable career spanning 24 seasons, Roger Clemens is the true definition of a power pitcher. Clemens is an 11-time Major League All-Star who won seven Cy Young Awards, lead the Majors in wins four times and lead the American League in strikeouts five times. The Rocket is a two-time World Series champion and has a treas...

Episode 20: Roy Oswalt won 143 games for the Houston Astros between 2001-2010. He won back-to-back 20 games and helped his team make the postseason in 2004 and 2005. A 3-time All Star, Oswalt was selected series MVP of the 2005 NLCS when the Astros clinched the pennant that same year.  Steve Sparks and Todd Kalas talk to Oswalt about his life in Mississippi, family, learning to pitch, winning the ...

Episode 19: RHP Austin Pruitt is a local product and finds himself in the mix for the Astros 2020 starting rotation. The Houston local hails from The Woodlands, was a member of the 2011 National JUCO World Series championship team, and the University of Houston Cougars pitching staff in wins (10), ERA (2.85), starts (15), IP (113.2) and K’s (92). In January 2020 Pruitt was acquired by the Astros a...

Talk about your bullpen guys. Then let’s talk about a 16 year career in the Big Leagues, amassing 422 saves (6th most in MLB history), making x7 All Star appearances, and striking-out an average of 11.9 hitters per 9 IP. Oh, and let’s talk about a righthanded pitcher who taught himself to pitch lefthanded after breaking his arm. In Episode 18 we do just that, we talk to Billy Wagner who pitched fo...

Episode 17: Enos Cabell played mostly 3B/IF in the Major Leagues for 15 seasons and with the Houston Astros from 1975-’80 and ’84-’85. In 2004 Cabell was named special assistant to the general manager and now enters his 16th season under GM James Click. Cabell joins Todd Kalas and Steve Sparks for an entertaining conversation about playing for manager Earl Weaver, the Astros' playoffs in 1980 and...