HOUSTON, TX - Houston Astros outfielder George Springer will be the guest on Astroline tomorrow, Wednesday, Jan. 6, at 7 p.m. CT at Pluckers Wing Bar for the fifth 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 remainder of the offseason.
Tomorrow night'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 third consecutive season, Astroline airs from Pluckers Wing Bar, which is located at 1400 Shepherd Dr., Houston, Texas, 77007. Pluckers Wing Bar is entering its third year of business in Houston after officially opening to the public in 2013. Astroline runs through March 2016 (12 segments), 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. As always, fans will also have the option to call the show with questions at 713-212-5790.
Springer, 26, posted career highs in games played (102), hits (107), runs (59), doubles (19), walks (50), steals (16), batting average (.276), OBP (.367) and OPS (.826) last season. He finished 2015 ranked fifth among AL outfielders in OBP (.367) and eighth in OPS (.826), in what was only his second Major League season. His .817 career OPS (.354 OBP/.463 SLG) is the fourth highest by any Astros player over his first two Major League seasons, behind Lance Berkman (.899), Hunter Pence (.833) and Jeff Bagwell (.818). Springer has homered 36 times within his first 180 Major League games, which is a club record. The previous record was held by Glenn Davis (35HR). His 36 home runs also rank second in club history through a player's first two seasons, behind Pence (42). Additionally, Springer was named the Astros nominee for the 2015 Roberto Clemente Award.
Sparks enters his fourth 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 George Springer are asked to arrive by 6:45 p.m.
Astroline preliminary schedule (subject to change).
Day           Date               Station
Wed.         Jan. 6              KBME
Thu.           Jan. 14            KBME      
Thu.           Jan. 21            KBME
Thu.           Jan. 28            KBME
Wed.         Feb. 3             KBME
Thu.           Feb. 11           KBME
Thu.           Feb. 18           KBME
Wed.         Feb. 24           KTRH
Thu.           Mar. 3             KBME
Thu.           Mar. 10           KBME
Thu.           Mar. 17           KBME
Thu.           Mar. 24           KBME
-ASTROS-