River Bandits & Astros Fun Facts

• The River Bandits have become the Astros' Midwest League affiliate for the second time.
• The Astros were the Quad City River Bandits' major league affiliate from 1993 to 1998.
• The Houston Astros' domestic (U.S.-based) minor league affiliates had the best overall record of any organization in 2012.
• All Astros minor league affiliates (including Dominican Summer League Astros) combined for the fourth-best record in baseball.
• The Houston Astros affiliates include (in order of closest to the Major League club):
  o Triple-A Oklahoma City (Okla.) RedHawks (Pacific Coast League)
  o Double-A Corpus Christi (Tex.) Hooks (Texas League)
  o Advanced Class-A Lancaster (Calif.) JetHawks (California League) - won the 2012 California League title
  o Class-A Quad Cities (Davenport, Iowa) River Bandits (Midwest League)
  o Short-season Class-A Tri-City (Troy, N.Y.) Valley Cats (New-York Penn League) - reached the 2012 NYPL finals
  o Rookie Greeneville (Tenn.) Astros (Appalachian League)
  o Rookie Gulf Coast League (Kissimmee, Fla.) Astros (Gulf Coast League)
• Tri-City, the class one step below Quad Cities, went to the 2012 New York-Penn League finals.
• The Astros' former Class-A affiliate, the Lexington Legends, had Roger Clemens on a rehab assignment in 2006.
• Houston had the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft and drafted Carlos Correa, a shortstop from Puerto Rico.
• Correa turned 18 on Sept. 22 and is rated as the No. 2 prospect in the entire Astros organization by MLB.com.
• Correa played for the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Astros and Greeneville Astros in 2012.
• The Astros' 2012 first supplemental round pick, pitcher Lance McCullers of Tampa, Fla., also played for GCL and Greeneville.
• Houston will very likely have the No. 1 overall pick in the June 2013 draft.
• The last No. 1 overall pick to play for Quad Cities was Joe Mauer (drafted in 2001 by Minnesota, played in 2002).
• The Quad Cities franchise joined the Midwest League in 1960 and has had six different parent clubs.
• In addition to Houston, major league affiliates include the Milwaukee (now Atlanta) Braves (1960-1961), Los Angeles and California Angels (1962-1978, 1985-1992), Chicago Cubs (1979-1984), Minnesota Twins (1999-2004) and St. Louis Cardinals (2005-2012).
• The Astros-affiliated River Bandits finished in first place in their division three of the last four seasons during the first affiliation.
• Current MLB pitchers Johan Santana (New York Mets) and Freddy Garcia (New York Yankees) played during the first affiliation.
• Billy Wagner pitched for the River Bandits in 1994, made seven MLB All-Star Games and had 422 saves, fifth-most in MLB history.
• The River Bandits top two single-season attendance marks came during the Astros affiliation (260,471 in 1994, 257,501 in 1995).
• Each of the Astros' six playoff teams from 1997 to 2005 included multiple former River Bandits.
• Former River Bandits pitcher Brad Lidge and outfielder Orlando Palmeiro played for Houston's first World Series team in 2005.
• The Astros General Manager is Jeff Luhnow, former St. Louis Cardinals Vice President of Scouting and Player Development.
• Luhnow was with the Cardinals from 2003 to 2011, including their years as the River Bandits parent club from 2005 to 2011.
• Astros Hall of Fame broadcaster Milo Hamilton is a Fairfield, Iowa, native and University of Iowa graduate
• Hamilton began his baseball broadcasting career in Davenport, Iowa, in 1950, and has the second-longest broadcast tenure in MLB.
• Three current Astros (infielders Tyler Greene and Brett Wallace, pitcher Chuckie Fick) played in Quad Cities between 2006 and 2009.
• The Astros are moving to the American League in 2013 after spending their first 51 seasons in the National League.
• Houston will be in the American League West with the Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers.
• The Houston franchise was known as the Houston Colt .45s from 1962 to 1964 and renamed the Astros prior to 1965.
• The Astrodome (1965-1999) was the first multi-purpose domed stadium in the world.
• Craig Biggio is on the ballot for election to the Hall of Fame in 2013. He played his whole career with Houston from 1988 to 2007.
• Hall of Famers who spent at least one season with the Astros include:
  o Pitcher Nolan Ryan
  o Pitcher Don Sutton
  o Second baseman Joe Morgan
  o Manager Leo Durocher
  o Infielder Eddie Mathews
  o Pitcher Robin Roberts
  o Second baseman Nellie Fox
• Retired numbers for the Astros include (in addition to Jackie Robinson's No. 42):
  o 32-Jim Umbricht (1962-1963)
  o 40-Don Wilson (1966-1974)
  o 25-Jose Cruz (1975-1987)
  o 33-Mike Scott (1983-1991)
  o 34-Nolan Ryan (1980-1988)
  o 49-Larry Dierker (1964-1977)
  o 24-Jimmy Wynn (1963-1973)
  o 5-Jeff Bagwell (1991-2005)
  o 7-Craig Biggio (1988-2007)