Jose Altuve to be guest on Astroline Thursday

HOUSTON, TX - Two-time All-Star second baseman, and 2014 Silver Slugger Award winner Jose Altuve will be the guest on Astroline this Thursday, Jan. 29, at 7 p.m. CT at Pluckers Wing Bar for the eighth installment of the offseason radio program. Astros radio color commentator and former Major League pitcher Steve Sparks will serve as the host.

Thursday's Astroline, which is presented by Karbach Brewing Co., will air on KBME SportsTalk 790 AM and will stream online at Astros.com/Astroline. All shows are scheduled to broadcast on KBME SportsTalk 790, but are subject to change due to scheduling conflicts. Astroline broadcasts live, weekly from 7-8 p.m. CT during the offseason. For the second consecutive season, Astroline is airing from Pluckers Wing Bar, which is located at 1400 Shepherd Dr., Houston, Texas, 77007.

*NOTE: Due to time restraints, there may not be an opportunity for autographs at Thursday's broadcast.

Starting March 5, Astroline will return to ESPN Club Restaurant on Disney's BoardWalk for the final four broadcasts from Florida during Spring Training. Astroline runs through March (16 segments overall). On-site locations for Astroline are open to the public with no admission charge.

Fans can submit questions to the show via Twitter using the hashtag #Astroline, before and during the show. Fans may also post questions on the Astros Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Astros. As always, fans will also have the option to call the show with questions at 713-212-5790.

In 2014, Altuve had one of the finest seasons in Astros history as well as one of the most productive seasons by any second baseman in the history of Major League Baseball. To go with his Silver Slugger Award as the top offensive second baseman in the AL, Altuve led the Majors in batting with a .341 average, becoming the first Houston player ever to win a batting crown. He also led the Majors with 225 hits, which is a club record, and led the AL with 56 stolen bases. In the process, he became just the third player since 1945 to lead his league in batting, hits and stolen bases. The other two were IF Snuffy Stirnweiss in 1945 and OF Ichiro Suzuki in 2001.

Sparks enters his third season as the Astros radio color commentator after being named to the post on Feb. 13, 2013. Prior to joining the Astros radio broadcast team, Sparks served as a pre- and postgame analyst for Astros television games over several seasons following a 17-year playing career. A knuckleballer in his playing days, Sparks pitched in the Major Leagues in parts of nine seasons (1995-2004) for the Brewers, Angels, Tigers, A's and Diamondbacks. His best season came in 2001 for Detroit when he went 14-9 with a 3.65 ERA and a Major League-best eight complete games while tallying 232.0 innings pitched.

Astroline preliminary schedule (subject to change).

Day           Date               Station

Thu.           Jan. 29            KBME

Thu.           Feb. 5             KBME

Thu.           Feb. 12           KBME

Thu.           Feb. 19           KBME

Thu.           Feb. 26          KBME

Thu.           Mar. 5             KBME

Tues.         Mar. 10           KBME

Wed.         Mar. 18           KBME

Thu.      Mar. 26           KBME