News
Astros' Sampson opens academy
Facility includes big league instructors, batting cages
By Brian McTaggart / MLB.com
11/16/09 6:37 PM EST
BAYTOWN, Tex. -- Growing up in the blue-collar suburbs east of the Houston, Astros relief pitcher Chris Sampson dreamed of being able to take batting practice in an indoor facility such as the one he stood in on Monday afternoon.Sampson and business partner Kade Johnson dreamed about opening such a facility when both were in the Minor Leagues years later, and the project has become reality.
Sampson and Johnson, a former Minor Leaguer in the Milwaukee Brewers system, cut the ribbon Monday at the grand opening of the LoneStar Baseball Academy in Baytown, which is where Johnson grew up and close to Sampson's hometown of Channelview.
"I love working with kids as well," Sampson said. "I'm going go to be here personally in the offseason doing the pitching clinics and things like that for kids. We have a lot of qualified instructors in here. We're super excited. It's a dream come true, and we've been trying to do something like this for a long time. We wish we had something like this growing up."
The facility, which takes up 6,000 feet of square feet in a building it shares with a gymnastics academy, features six batting cages for live pitching and one pitching machine that simulates a pitcher's arm motion.
Sampson, 31, is one of eight baseball instructors, including fellow Major Leaguers J.R. Towles, a catcher with the Astros, and Garrett Mock, a pitcher with the Washington Nationals, both of whom are from the area. There is also a women's softball pitching instructor.
The academy also has men's and women's dressing rooms, lockers for teams to hang their gear and bleachers for parents to watch their kids. It is designed for teams to rent the cages for indoor batting practice, but individual players are welcome, too. There will also be coaches' clinics and pitching and hitting camps.
"It's been in the works going on six years now," Sampson said. "Kade Johnson and I ran the idea by each other when we were both still in the Minor Leagues, and now six years later the dream became reality. We've worked our tail off getting this place ready to open."
Among those who attended the grand opening was new Astros manager Brad Mills, who is in town for some organizational meetings. The smell of fresh paint was still present as Mills toured the cages.
"It's been a treat to talk to some of the guys and get to visit with them and find out a little about them," Mills said. "And when Chris said they were having a grand opening here, I said, 'That's a good time for me, because I'm in town and might as well stop by.' It's so close, and for me to not stop by when one of our players is doing something like this to help the community. ... I need to do this. It's a treat."
The support of the manager meant the world to Sampson, who is 19-15 with a 4.28 ERA in 139 games (33 starts) for the Astros since 2006.
"It was great to meet him, and it says a lot about the kind of man he is," Sampson said.
For more information on the academy or to sign up for batting cages, lessons or camps, visit www.lonestarbat.com.
Brian McTaggart is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
