I can still remember that morning very vividly.  I was stationed at NAS JRB Willow Grove at the time and Sept. 11th was my first day off after we had finished with our annual Air Show.  I was watching TV when they cut away to the World Trade Center.....when the second tower was struck I knew that we were under attack.  After watching the Twin Towers fall I went upstairs and started to pack a bag since I was an MP at the time and knew that I would be getting a call.  I went for a long run shortly after packing my bags as I tried to sort out what had just happened and where it was going to take us as a nation.  By the time I had gotten home the call had come and I had an hour to report before they started to shut the base down.  I worked the graveyard shift and it was very eerie those first few nights when their was no commercial air traffic.  The only aircraft I saw through the Night Vision Goggles were those fighter aircraft that were on air patrol. 

Since many of our reservists were Police Officers from the New York area you could feel the nervousness they felt as they tried to find out about officers they knew and mourned with them when they lost one of their own.  It was a long time before I took my mourning band off. 

After the tragedy of 9/11 I saw a transformation that reminded me that even in one of our nations worst time....I saw many of their citizens at their best and that is why I'm proud to be an American.   While we lost many Americans that tragic day, those who died that day would have wanted us as Americans to remember their loss.  What they wouldn't want for us to do is for us not to move on.  America needed to do that and baseball is one of those activities which allows a group of people to share a common bound. 

In November 2008, the Houston Astros signed right-handed pitcher, Chia-Jen Lo from Taiwan to a Minor League Contract.  He pitched two innings in the 2008 Olympics against China.  It's not known which Minor League team he will pitching for.  The Houston Astros have four Single A teams: Lancaster Jet Hawks, Lexington Legends, Tri-City Valley Cats and the Greeneville Astros.  Depending upon his progression it is possible that we could see him in a Corpus Christi Hooks this season.

Two Corpus Christi Hooks and one former Hook were added to the Houston Astros 40-man roster.  Tommy Manzella played 54 games with the Hooks in the 2008 season before he was promoted to Triple-A Round Rock Express.  In his debut with the Express he went 3 for 5 with a double and 3 RBIs.

Drew Sutton played the entire year in Corpus Christi, he became the organizations first "20-20" player.  He had a stellar year and led all Astro Minor Leaguers in batting average (.317), hits (165), runs scored (102), walks (76), doubles (39) and extra base hits (63).  This was Drew's second year with the team.  He's a switch hitter who can hit the long ball from both sides of the plate.  He mainly played Second Base, with a couple of stints at Third and Short Stop.  He also played in the Arizona Fall League last year with the Scottsdale Scorpions.  I see him being promoted this year to Triple A where he will join Tommy Manzella.

Brian Bogusevic started 2008 off as a pitcher but after three years of struggling at the mound the Houston Astros felt that he would progress as an outfielder, a position he played at Tulane.  He was sent down to Single A to learn the mechanics again and after a short stint with the Lexington Legends he came back to Corpus Christi on fire.  He shined in his new role as he batted .347, had four home runs and 26 RBI's.  Brian would also play in the Arizona Fall League as a Scottsdale Scorpion.

 

The Lancaster Jethawks are the new Single A affilliate of the Houston Astros after the Players Development Contract with the Salem Avalanche ended in 2008. 

The Corpus Christi Hooks will have two exhibition games before they start the 2009 Season.  The first exhibition game will be against the Houston Astos on April 2nd, followed by the Round Rock Express on April 7th.  Both of these games will be a Whataburger Field.

The 2009 Season looks to be an very exciting one.

On Monday, January 5th, the owner of the Minnesota Twins, Carl Pohlad, passed away at the age of 93.  He bought the team in 1984 from Calvin Griffith and he was widely credited for saving baseball in Minnesota.  When he took over the team he had a group of promising young players which included Gary Gaetti, Kent Hrbek and future Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett.  The Minnesota Twins would go ahead and win the World Series in 1987 against the St. Louis Cardinals and again in 1991 against the Atlanta Braves. 

Carl Pohlad and his wife founded the Twins Community Fund, which gave $3.3 million to area charities in 2005 and at a baseball banquet in January 2006, a wheelchair-bound Pohlad unexpectedly announced a $500,000 donation to the Bob Allison Ataxia Research Center.

Pohlad stated to the Minneapolis Star Tribune "I live and die by every pitch...I want so badly for them to win. ... If it isn't competitive and you don't have a team with character, it won't be any fun.".  His statement echoes what many of us feel about our team regardless if their a Minor or Major League team.

Your contributions to baseball and your community will never be forgotten Mr. Pohlad.