Astros busy in the offseason
After a successful 2014 season, the Astros want to thank all of the fans and sponsors for their support. While we won't see the Astros back at Pioneer Park until 2015, past Greeneville players have already been busy in the off season. The players aren't the only ones working hard, as Gizmo has been making appearances around town and the front office staff is already planning for Opening Day 2015!
Astros finish strong season
The Astros finished out their 2014 season with a record of 32-34, just 5 games back from first place in the Western Division of the Appalachian League. Strong pitching from the staff led to the team finishing fifth in pitching with a team ERA of 3.60. The team also set a Greeneville record with only 19 home runs allowed through the 66 game season.
There were multiple standout players who helped to lead the team to a solid finish. For the first time since 2006, two Greeneville players were named the Appalachian League Pitcher of the Week. Harold Arauz was given the honor for the week of August 18-24 and was followed by Brock Dykxhoorn for the week of August 25-September 1. Arauz finished the season 1-0 with a 1.46 ERA while Dykxhoorn finished the season strong on August 25 by recording 10 strikeouts over 5 innings. Agapito Barrios ended the season at the top of the league pitching with a 5-0 record and 2.09 ERA. In hitting, team MVP Jason Martin ended second in the league in triples with 6.
Off the field, the Greeneville Astros continued to set attendance records with the help of our passionate fans. The 2014 Greeneville Astros led the Appalachian League in attendance for the eleventh consecutive year. Pioneer Park saw a season that housed a total of 48,619 with an average game attendance of 1,430 fans, the highest total and average attendance since 2009.
The Astros want to thank all of their fans and sponsors for helping to create a memorable season! We can't wait to see everyone back at Pioneer Park in June of 2015.
MiLB announces Astros Organization All-Stars
On Friday, October 10, MiLB announced its annual Houston Astros Organization All-Stars for 2014. Roberto Pena (2010), Carlos Correa (2012), Rio Ruiz (2012), and Brett Phillips (2013), who also played for the California League Championship winning Lancaster Jethawks this season, were the four past Greeneville Astros among the 14 players chosen.
To read more about the Astros' All-Stars, follow the link below:
Altuve finishes record breaking season
Jose Altuve, who played in Greeneville during the 2008 and 2009 seasons, finished a record breaking season for the Houston Astros this season. Altuve took the American League batting title with an average of .341, six points ahead of Victor Martinez who was in second. His league leading batting average made him the first player in Houston Astros history to clinch the title. Altuve also led in multi hit games, finishing the season with 69. Former Astro Craig Biggio's record of 210 hits in one season was also surpassed by Altuve, who finished with 225 hits in 158 games. Altuve will be traveling to Japan to take part in the 2014 Major League Baseball Japan All-Star series from November 11-20.
To read more about Altuve's season, follow the link below:
Gizmo making appearances around Greeneville
The players aren't the only ones who've been hard at work lately. Gizmo has recently made appearances around Greeneville at the Notre Dame Church Fall Festival, the Boys and Girls Club Kid's Day, and Chuckey Doak's Band Bash. Do you have an event you'd like Gizmo to be a part of? Call the Astros front office at (423) 638-0411 today!
Rensel named Sports Turf Manager of the Year
The Greeneville Astros head grounskeeper, Kelly Rensel, was named the 2014 Appalchian League Sports Turf Manager of the Year. Rensel's award marks the seventh year a Greeneville groundskeeper has won the award in the past eleven, joining Blair Waller (2004), Joe Skrabak (2006), Israel Hinojosa (2008-09), Blake Anderson (2010), Tyler Mittlesteadt (2012), and John Bennett (2013).
Astros staying busy in the off-season
Although the regular season may have ended, that does not mean the Astros players are done for the year. The Arizona Fall League, a league meant to continue developing coaches and players into the off-season, invited four former Greeneville players and one coach. Vincent Velasquez (2010), Tyson Perez (2011), Mitchell Lambson (2012), and Rio Ruiz (2012) were named to the Salt River Rafters along with 2013-2014 Greeneville hitting coach Josh Miller. They join four other Astros minor league players (Mark Appel, Tyler Heineman, Joe Sclafani, and Andrew Aplin) on the team which is currently in first out of the six teams in the league.
Meanwhile, the Astros held their instructional league at the Spring Training facility in Kissimmee, Florida in September. The league had 20 past Greeneville players participate: Dean Deetz, Brock Dykxhoorn, Devonte German, Reymin Guduan, Joshua James, Jorge Perez, Juan Santos, Alfredo Gonzalez, Brian Holberton, Jacob Nottingham, Jose Fernandez, Connor Goedert, Chase McDonald, Tyler White, Antonio Nunez, Hector Roa, Jeffry Santos, Kristian Trompiz, Jason Martin, and Marc Wik.
To learn more about the Arizona Fall League, follow the link below:
Become a 2015 sponsor
Are you looking for a way to promote your business within the Greeneville community? Become an Astros sponsor for the 2015 season! From outfield wall signs to program ads to sponsoring theme nights, there's something for anyone who is interested. The Astros saw an average of 1,430 fans per game in 2014, guaranteeing that your business will reach a variety of people across Greeneville. Call the office today to learn more about all of our opportunities at (423) 638-0411.
The Upper Deck Halloween sale
Now through October 31, The Upper Deck will be holding a Halloween sale on orange merchandise. Get 15% off select items and get into the Halloween spirit!
To see the items for sale, follow the link below:
Join Gizmo's Comic Kids Club
Is the smallest member of your Astros family ready for baseball to be here? Sign them up for Gizmo's Comsic Kids Club today! Kids Club members will get in free to all of our Monday home games, receive food vouchers for each Monday game, get to attend a Meet and Greet with the team at the end of the season, and much more.
To find out more about Gizmo's Cosmic Kids Club, follow the link below: