What happened today in team history?

1987 – Wood named GM

After holding the position as the interim GM for the past two months, Billy Wood gets named the Astros general manager right before the start of the year’s Winter Meetings.

He famously passed up on Derek Jeter with the first overall pick in the 1992 MLB Draft, going with pitcher Phil Neven instead and was the GM who orchestrated the trade that brought Bagwell to Houston from Boston.

1988 – Astros lose the Express

After pitching for the Astros for nine years and cementing himself as the best pitcher in the game, a 41-year-old Nolan Ryan signed a contract with the cross-state Texas Rangers, sparking massive backlash from the Houston fanbase.

It was later reported that three other teams had offers out to Ryan that were worth more than the Astros deal. This was because Astros owner John McMullen didn’t believe in paying players more than he does people in the front office.

1997 – Bagwell goes off on front office

Jeff Bagwell had some words to say about the front office after his friend and Astros pitcher Darryl Kile signed a contract with the Colorado Rockies. This led to Astros GM Gerry Hensicker putting out a statement, disappointed in how his player reacted to the situation.

2017 – Stros get Luhnow

After spending time with the St. Louis Cardinals, the Astros announce that Jeff Luhnow will be the next GM of the team. Luhnow came in to strip the front office and team down and introduce them to capermetrics and the tech behind the game of baseball. This led to him building a team that went on to win two World Series, one of which he was the GM for.

What else happened on this day?

1976

The Seattle Mariners, starting just a few months before and them about to take on their first season as a franchise, make their first trade, sending Grant Jackson to the Pirates for two players.

1992

After a meeting between owners, a vote is held and passed to re-open the collective bargaining agreement which aims to focus on salary minimums, arbitration and free agency.

2007

During the ongoing BALCO investigation, which was looking into players using performance enhancing drugs, Berry Bonds pleaded not-guilty to five cases of perjury and obstruction of justice.

2023

In order to reduce payroll, the San Diego Padres and New York Yankees agree to a deal to send All-Star Juan Soto in exchange for five players.