A.J. Hinch To Be Guest On Astroline Thursday

HOUSTON, TX - Houston Astros Manager A.J. Hinch will be the guest on Astroline this Thursday, Dec. 4, at 7 p.m. CT at Pluckers Wing Bar for the second 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 will air on KBME SportsTalk 790 AM and will stream online at Astros.com/Astroline. All shows are scheduled to broadcast on KMBE SportsTalk 790, but are subject to change due to scheduling conflicts. Astroline will broadcast live, weekly from 7-8 p.m. CT during the offseason. 

For the second consecutive season, Astroline takes place at Pluckers Wing Bar, which is located at 1400 Shepherd Dr. in Houston. Pluckers Wing Bar is entering its second year of business in Houston after officially opening to the public last November. Astroline runs through March with the first 12 segments at Pluckers, which will be open to all Astros fans 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.

Hinch was named the 18th manger in Astros history on Sept. 29, 2014. The 40-year-old brings more than 20 years of playing, managing and front office experience in Major League Baseball to the Astros organization. He joins the Astros from San Diego, where he most recently served as the club's Vice President and Assistant General Manager for three years (2011-14). This is his second managerial post, as he served as Arizona's manager for parts of two seasons from 2009-10. Hinch also played parts of seven Major League seasons with Oakland (1998-2000), Kansas City (2001-02), Detroit (2003) and Philadelphia (2004). While with the Tigers, Hinch and Sparks were teammates in 2003, with Hinch catching Sparks in three games. Hinch played in a total of 338 career Major League games after being selected by Oakland in the third round of the 1996 draft.

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.

*Media Note- Media wishing to interview A.J. Hinch are asked to arrive by 6:45 p.m.

Astroline preliminary schedule (subject to change).

Day           Date               Station

Thu.           Dec. 4             KBME

Thu.           Dec. 11         KBME

Wed.         Dec. 17          KBME

Tue.           Jan. 6              KBME

Tue.           Jan. 13            KBME

Thu.           Jan. 22            KBME

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