Astros extend partnership with Tri-City club

HOUSTON, TX —  The Houston Astros announced today that the club has extended its Player Development Contract (PDC) with the Short-Season Class A Tri-City ValleyCats of the New York-Penn League. The two-year extension continues the affiliation between the Astros and the Tri-City club through the 2014 season. The announcement was made by Astros General Manager Jeff Luhnow.

Luhnow attended the ValleyCats’ last two games. “We have an outstanding partnership with the ValleyCats,” Luhnow said. “The ownership group is tremendous, the facility is first-class and the fan support is great. Tri-City provides a very good environment for our players to play in, so we’re extremely pleased to extend the partnership.”

“We are pleased to continue our long and close relationship with the Houston Astros organization,” said ValleyCats President and Owner Bill Gladstone. “We share their vision of player development and winning, and they provide the ValleyCats a strong partner for our continued success.”

The ValleyCats have been the Astros Short-Season Class A affiliate since 2002, and this season the club set a franchise record with 51 regular season wins. For the ninth consecutive season, the ValleyCats set a new attendance record, drawing 159,966 total fans to Joseph L. Bruno Stadium in 2012, with an average of 4,210 per game and a franchise-record 17 sellouts. The 2010 New York-Penn League Champions begin postseason play on Friday, as Tri-City will face the Auburn Doubledays at 7:05 p.m. ET for Game 1 of a three-game series.