Cardinals 2012 First Baseman a Huge Hit at 27th Annual Houston Baseball Dinner

Dateline Houston, Texas – February 10th, 2012

Thanks to a gracious invitation from my brother, Dennis, a devoted Houston Astros fan, I was fortunate enough to attend the annual Baseball Dinner presented by Minute Maid, Astros in Action, and the Houston Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America last night at the Hilton Americas in downtown Houston. A dazzling array of former Astros MVPs were present, with Milo Hamilton and Lisa Malosky serving as co-Masters of Ceremony. A large crowd of Houston area sports fans was in attendance to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Houston Astros and to honor the following 2011 Award Winners:

2012 Houston Area Preseason Major College Player of the Year – Austin Kubitza

2011 Fred Hartman Long and Meritorious Service Award – Bill Brown

2011 Houston Area Major League Player of the Year – Lance Berkman

2011 Astros Rookie of the Year – J. D. Martinez

2011 Darryl Kyle Award – Jason Bourgeois

2011 Astros Pitcher of the Year – Wandy Rodriguez

2011 Most Valuable Astro – Hunter Pence

As a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan, I was quite pleased that the crowd gave an exceptionally warm reception to Cardinals first baseman, Lance Berkman, on the occasion of his first public appearance in Houston after leading the Cards to their 11th World Series Championship this past fall.

HERE’S WISHING THE CARDINALS A SUCCESSFUL DEFENSE OF THEIR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP THIS SEASON!