HOUSTON, TX - Houston Astros Manager A.J. Hinch will be the guest on Astroline tomorrow, Thursday, Dec. 8, at 7 p.m. CT at Pluckers Wing Bar for the third installment of the offseason radio program. Astros radio color commentator Steve Sparks will serve as the host. Sparks and fellow radio broadcaster Robert Ford will alternate hosting duties throughout the offseason.
Tomorrow night's Astroline, which is presented by Karbach Brewing Co., will air on the Astros Radio Network, the Astros flagship station 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 fourth consecutive season, Astroline airs from Pluckers Wing Bar, which is located at 1400 Shepherd Dr., Houston, Texas, 77007. Astroline runs through March 2017 (15 remaining segments), and is 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. As always, fans will also have the option to call the show with questions at 713-212-5790.
Hinch, 42, guided the Astros to an 84-78 finish in 2016, in what was his second year managing the Astros. The Astros finished with a .500-or-better record for the second consecutive season with Hinch at the helm (86-76 in 2015), which marked the first time the club has done so since the 2005-06 seasons. 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 caught a total of 338 career Major League games after being selected by Oakland in the third round of the 1996 draft.
Sparks enters his fifth 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 at Astroline are asked to arrive by 6:45 p.m.
Astroline preliminary schedule (subject to change).
Day           Date               Station
Thurs.       Dec. 8             KBME
Thurs.       Dec. 15           KBME
Thurs.       Dec. 22           KBME
Wed.         Jan. 4              KBME
Thurs.       Jan. 12            KBME
Thurs.       Jan. 19            KBME
Thurs.       Jan. 26            KBME
Wed.         Feb. 1              KBME
Wed.         Feb. 8              KBME
Thurs.       Feb. 16           KBME
Wed.         Feb. 22         KBME
Thurs.       March 2*       KBME
Thurs.       March 9*       KBME
Tues.         March 14*     KBME
Wed.         March 22*     KBME
*live from West Palm
-ASTROS-