HOUSTON, TX - Former Houston Astros player and manager Art Howe will be the featured guest on Astroline tomorrow, Dec. 12 at 6 p.m. CT. Astros broadcasters Todd Kalas and Steve Sparks will serve as co-hosts with a call-in from Astros beat writer Brian McTaggart and a report from the Winter Meetings with Astros manager AJ Hinch. 

Tomorrow’s Astroline, presented by Karbach Brewing Co., will air live on the Astros Radio Network, Astros flagship KBME SportsTalk 790 AM/94.5 FM HD-2, streamed on Facebook Live and will be available in podcast form at Astros.com/Podcasts following the broadcast. All shows are scheduled to broadcast on KBME SportsTalk 790 but are subject to change due to scheduling conflicts. Astroline broadcasts live, weekly from 6-7 p.m. CT during the offseason.

*_PLEASE NOTE REGARDING AUTOGRAPHS - Fans can pick up a free raffle ticket at Pluckers on Thursday beginning at 5:30 p.m. (one raffle ticket per fan) for the chance to receive a special autographed photocard. A limited number of winning tickets will be selected during the Astroline broadcast between 6-7 p.m. Fans must have a winning ticket/voucher to receive an autograph. Only Astros supplied Photo Cards will be signed._**

For the seventh consecutive season, Astroline airs from Pluckers Wing Bar, which is located at 1400 Shepherd Dr., Houston, Texas, 77007. Astroline runs through March (eight remaining segments) and is open to all Astros fans with no admission charge. Several shows will also broadcast live on the Astros official Facebook page.

Howe spent 12 seasons in the Houston Astros organization, serving as an infielder from 1976-82 and the club’s manager from 1989-93. In his Astros career, Howe batted .269 with 266 RBI, 121 doubles and 39 home runs. He was a part of the Astros first National League West championship team in 1980. Howe was also named the 10th manager in Houston franchise history, and under his leadership, the Astros compiled 392 wins over five seasons, which ranks fourth on the franchise all-time victories list for a manager.

Kalas enters his fourth season as the Astros lead play-by-play television broadcaster. Kalas, who is the son of Hall of Famer and former Astros broadcaster Harry Kalas, has over 25 seasons of experience as a broadcaster in professional baseball. Prior to joining the Astros, he spent 19 seasons (1998-2016) as part of the Tampa Bay Rays TV broadcast team. He also had stints with the New York Mets radio (1992-93) and Philadelphia Phillies television (1994-96) broadcast teams.

Sparks is entering his eighth 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

Thurs.      Dec. 19          KBME

Thurs.      Jan. 9              KBME

Thurs.      Jan. 16            KBME

Wed.        Jan. 23            KBME

Thurs.  Jan. 30                 KBME

Thurs.      Feb. 6             KBME

Thurs.      Feb. 13           KBME

Thurs       Feb. 20           KBME

Thurs.      Feb. 27*        KBME

Wed.    Mar. 4*               KBME

Wed.        Mar. 11*       KBME

Wed.        Mar. 18*       KBME

*live from West Palm