ASTROLAND
 

OPENING DAY STARTERS FOR HOUSTON IN CAPS


NL All-Stars in
Gold
Playing for Houston in an NL Game gets you an icon like this:  


Minor League A/S Card Appearances in italics


Abandon All Hope Ye Who Encounter The WHIFF KING


Look out for those implicated in the use of PED's 

One in a Hundred get to join The One Hundred Club:  


The I Section is Brought to you by John Fogerty

CARDS I HAVE PLAYER POSITION REMARKS
1 Sal Iacono Card Catcher
Second string catcher for the 2007 Tri-City ValleyCats, retired in May 2008 Tri City ValleyCats logo
2 Angel Ibanez Cards Third Base
Greeneville Astros logo
Primary third baseman for Greeneville in 2012--the MOST primary player for G-ville, as he led the team in Games Played--had been drafted 28th in the previous June's draft. Repeated at Greeneville in 2013: his Average dropped by 15 points, his Games Played by 27
2 Cookie Ibarra Cards Bullpen Coach
Round Rock Express logoThe only bullpen catcher the Round Rock Express have ever known through 2007 was rewarded with a baseball card that year, and got another one the next.
3 Jeff Icenogle Cards Pitcher
NDFA finished second in ERA on the 2007 Tri-City ValleyCats. Second in strikeouts for the 2008 Lexington Legends. Pitched at High A Lexington in '09
Lancaster JetHawks logo
7 Blaise Ilsley Cards Pitcher
Co-led the New York-Penn League in strikeouts with 116 while at Auburn in 1985, for which he was then pictured on the cover of the team's 1986 game program. Got as high in the Astros organization as AAA Tucson in 1991. Finally made the majors with the Cubs in 1994.
1983 - 1994 Auburn Astros logo
1 Tatsuya Imai Card
Pitcher
 
Houston Astros logo 2014 -
2026 Free agent from the NPB went on the DL, started a no-hitter, and failed to escape the first inning three times in the span of his first fifteen starts, then was moved to the 'pen
24 PETE INCAVIGLIA Cards
Outfield
 
Houston Astros 1965 - 1993 logoInstalled as starting outfielder opening day of '92, he responded with a .266 average with 44 RBI's, 99 K's and 25 walks. I got two words:
3 Wilton Infante Cards Pitcher
Two years at Rookie Greeneville without breaking the Mendoza line. Hit .230 with a team-leading 3 triples for Tri-City in 2010
Tri City ValleyCats logo
29 Eli Iorg CardsOutfield
Son of former Toronto Blue Jay Garth Iorg was a first round pick in 2005 and led the Greeneville Astros that summer in RBI, and finished second in slugging. Followed up in 2006 by leading the Lexington Legends in total bases and by being named Lexington MVP. 2007 at Salem was shortened by an elbow injury, but he DID slug .512 and OPS .863. Hit .268 with 11 homers in 450 AB's at AA Corpus in '08. Began '09 at Round Rock, got hurt and was rehabbing at Short A Tri-City when he was released.
Lexington Legends logo
16 Eric Ireland CardsPitcher
Kissimmee Cobras logo
Owner of the only nine-inning perfect game in organization history (although Oscar Zamora did pitch a seven-inning version). His effort for the Florida State League Kissimmee Cobras June 24, 1999 vs. the St. Petersburg Devil Rays was also only the fourth perfect game in FSL history. Ireland was lost the following year, however, to the A's as a rule five selection, and there, he languished, I believe, until being reacquired by the Astros late in 2002. Though to be fair, given Houston's problems with the major league starting rotation early in 2003, it didn't look like anyone in the 'Stros chain was rushing to promote Ireland.
2 Michael Irwin Cards Pitcher
University of Portland graduate pitched for the 1990 Auburn Astros
~1990 Auburn Astros logo
1 Tyler Ivey Card
Pitcher
 
Righthander from Dallas was the 3rd round pick in the 2017 MLB draft for the Astros. While pitching for Buies Creek and Quad Cities in 2018 Ivey had the second lowest WHIP of any pitcher in the organization who'd thrown 90 Innings. He was fifth in Strikeouts too. Had a 1.57 ERA at Corpus in 2019, , but his season (and eventually his career) was curtailed by elbow issues. Pitched ineffectively in the organization in 2021 (though he did get his lone major league Start, a No-Decision vs. the Rangers, on May 21) and 2022, then retired, citing 'burnout.' But expressed an interest to Astros officials in 2025 about returning, and they said sure, and he pitched the year at AAA Sugar Land, to a 6.00 ERA or so
~1990 Auburn Astros logo
5 Mike Ivie Cards
Infield/Outfield
 
Highway robbery my friends: The Astros traded clutch NLCS guy Dave Bergman and future NLCS MVP Jeff Leonard to the Giants for Ivie on 4/20/81. Ivie thereupon gave Houston a grand total of 19 games for the rest of '81. "Exhaustion" says the back of his 1982 Donruss # 396.
Houston Astros 1965 - 1993 logo
1 Hank Izquierdo Card Catcher
Oklahoma City '89ers cap logo

Old Falcon Park


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The J Section is Brought to you by Run-DMC

CARDS I HAVE PLAYER POSITION REMARKS
1 Francisco Jabalera Card Outfield
"Afro-Man" pictured only in the 1983 TCMA Columbus set actually played six years, exclusively in the Astros system, and amassed 127 career RBI Mid 70s Columbus Astros logo
2 Chris Jackson Cards Infield
Lancaster JetHawks logo
29th round pick in June 2008 split his first professional season between Tri-city and Lexington, and his second one between Lexington and Lancaster.
18 Chuck Jackson Cards
Infield
 
Houston Astros 1965 - 1993 logoUniversity of Hawaii grad led the Southern League in onbase percentage his first year in pro ball and had hits in six of first eight major league games. Last seen not making the inaugural Marlins despite an awesome, fan-pleasing spring training of '93.
1 Doug Jackson Card Pitcher
1978 - 1979 Daytona Astro
Mid \'80s Daytona Beach Astros logo
1 Gayron Jackson Card Outfield
AKA "Gary": Late-round (I'm sure) pick in the June '86 draft spent a year at Auburn 1983 - 1994 Auburn Astros logo
12 Mike Jackson Cards
Relief Pitcher
 
Houston Astros logo, 2000-
Once one of the best set up men in baseball, the by-then-aged Jackson inspired zero confidence for fans of the 2001 edition
3 Ron Jackson Cards Coach
Round Rock Express  logoNamed hitting coach at Round Rock for the 2007 season, replacing Harry Spilman. In his first go-round, Jackson's hitters finished 14th in the 16-team PCL in average and OPS. In his second, they finished 15th and 16th, respectively. 2009 saw the same results.
6 SONNY JACKSON Cards
Shortstop
 
Early double play partner of Joe Morgan led the 1964 Texas League in singles, then hit three inside the park homers for the '66 Houston club. But Sonny's days in Houston were numbered. His trade to the Braves on 10/8/67 with Chuck Harrison for Denis Menke and Denny LeMaster was actually a pretty good one: Menke's OBP as an Astro was 50 points higher than what Jackson had managed. Menke would be elected an All-Star twice for Houston while Jackson toiled for Atlanta with no awards.
Round Rock Express  logo
1 Billy Jacobson Card Outfield/Pitcher
Stanford grad pitched for Martinsville in 2001, but was pitching in the Cape Cod League in 2002.
Martinsville Astros 2000 - 2002 logo
1 Jeff Jacobson Card Catcher
1983 - 1994 Auburn Astros logo
Hit .205 with 4 homers and 17 RBI's for the '82 Auburn Astros. After a slow start at Asheville in '83, he was traded to the Orioles, who stationed him at Hagerstown in the Carolina league, and watched as he had a pretty good year at two High A stops in '84, and eventually reached the AA level with the 1985 Charlotte O's. Looks to have become fairly successful in the Chicago real estate market post-baseball.
23 Brad James CardsPitcher
Corpus Christi Hooks logoRepeating in the Appy League for 2005, James led the G-vile Astros in innings pitched while striking out twice as many as he walked. 9 - 2 with a 1.98 and a Carolina League All-Star for the Avalanche in 2007, but struggled some with the competition level at AA Corpus in 2008; those struggles continued in '09.
3 Calvin James Cards Outfield
Johnson & Wolff and the back of James' 1988 Best Columbus Astros # 26 disagree as to whether James was in fact an FSL all-star for his work at Osceola in 1987, J&W saying no, and Best saying yes. But what's not in dispute is that his .319 BA was second in the league that year and that his 72 runs scored for that team weren't bad, either.
Osceola Astros 1985 - 1993 logo
3 Chris James Cards
Outfield
 
Journeyman who had actually once finished ninth in the AL in batting average spent '93 as a backup with the 'Stros, collecting 33 hits and 19 RBI. Houston Astros 1965 - 1993 logo
12 Josh James Cards
Pitchher
 
Houston Astros logo 2014 -
34th Round pick in the June 2014 draft was a Texas League Midseason All-Star in 2017 for Corpus Christi and Astros Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2018. Becamse the lowest-drafted Astro pitcher ever to start a Game for Houston on September 1, 2018. Credited the treatment of his sleep apnea for ramping up his fastball velocity, which got up to 102.4 mph during the 2018 ALCS. Won Game 3 of the 2019 World Series for the Astros. Non-tendered by the Astros in November 2022 and he has not returned to the Majors
30 Ryan Jamison CardsPitcher
Lexington Legends logo2001 South Atlantic League Top Prospect lost to the Mets on waivers July of '02
1 Walker Janek Card Catcher