Houston Astros Inside Pitch
by Sports Xchange
"Some of my fondest memories came in an Astros uniform," said Hampton, who pitched for the Astros from 1994-99. "So it's a chance to return to some of those glory days."
During his six-year stretch with Houston, Hampton went 69-40. He went 15-10 for the Mets in 2000 before striking it rich on the free agent market, signing an eight-year, $121 million deal with the Rockies.
That contract finally expired this fall, and in that span he went 56-52 for Colorado and Atlanta, and he missed 2 1/2 seasons due to injury.
Hampton returned this year to make 13 starts for the Braves. He went 3-4 with a 4.85 ERA.
--Ty Wigginton recently called his good friend Hunter Pence to pull his chain, just as he had messed with the young Astros outfielder last July.
Starting at least three weeks before the July 31 trading deadline, Wigginton often told Pence that he had heard he was going to be traded for a top starting pitcher.
Pence bit often, prompting Wigginton to continue the running joke all the way through the trading deadline.
Now Wigginton knows there's a strong chance he'll be the one who is dealt this winter.
Wigginton would rather stay in Houston, but he long has accepted the cliche that baseball is a business. He earned $4.3 million this year, and his salary might jump to $5 million or $6 million next year. So he wasn't shocked when he read a story after the general managers meetings indicating that the Astros might trade him, Jose Valverde or Miguel Tejada.
"Obviously I've been traded twice," he said. "I know I've heard my name in plenty of rumors, and it means nothing."
Well, it's not exactly nothing. It's just another way for him to get some laughs.
"I called Hunter last week and I was kidding around with him and saying I see all the reports that you're going to be traded," Wigginton said. "He was like, 'For real?' I said, 'No, dude, I'm kidding.'"
The economy is difficult elsewhere, and baseball players don't live in caves.
"I think we all check what's going on," he said. "We're baseball players, but at the same time we're regular people. ... I think no matter what position you're in, if you're in the stock market, you pretty much have dealt with the same stuff. Your losses are going to be the same percentage-wise."
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