Corpus Christi Hooks

• Location: Corpus Christi, TX
• League: Texas League 2005-2019; Double-A Central 2021; Texas League 2022-
• Affiliation: Houston Astros 2005-present
• Ballpark: Whataburger Field 2005-present

Team History

The Corpus Christi Hooks, of the Texas League and briefly in Double-A Central, are owned by their parent club. The Houston Astros farmhands play their home games at Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi, TX.

Their nickname is for the local fishing industry. In a time that alternate brands abound, though, this club is a leader: Raspas de Corpus Christi (Corpus Christi Snow Cones[1]) for the Copa de la Diversión Hispanic engagement campaign; "Blue Ghosts" to promote the USS Lexington Museum, on the deck of which they once took batting practice; Dia de los Hooks for the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead; and in 2021 "Honey Butter Chicken Biscuits" in a weekly Whataburger promotion.

The club relocated from Round Rock, TX, where they began play in 2000 as the Round Rock Express after Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan's firm bought and moved the Jackson Generals.

In their first season in Corpus Christi, led by Dave Clark, they posted a 64-76 record. Pitcher Jason Hirsh went 13-8 with a 2.87 ERA for the club and led the league with 165 strikeouts. In their second year, the Hooks won the Texas League championship. In their first season in Corpus Christi, led by Dave Clark, they posted a 64-76 record. Pitcher Jason Hirsh went 13-8 with a 2.87 ERA for the club and led the league with 165 strikeouts. In their second year, the Hooks won the Texas League championship.

The Astros bought the Hooks in 2013.

After the Astros won their first World Series, a 2018 giveaway of replicas of their 2017 World Series rings drew a crowd of 10,446.

In 2019, the Hooks received national publicity for a "Phones-Free" game on June 20th. Fans were given a special case in which to lock their phones for the duration of the game, with provisions made for those who needed to use them for emergencies, and special photo booths set up for those who normally use their phones as cameras. The object was to raise awareness for coastal conservation by asking persons to pay less attention to their phone and more to their environment.

The Hooks play Copa de la Diversión Hispanic engagement campaign games as Corpus Christi Cumbias (The Cumbia is a style of music that originated as a Columbian folk dance).

Year-by-Year Record

Year	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs	Hitting coach	Pitching coach	Coach
2005	64-76	7th	Dave Clark		John Tamargo Jr.	Joe Slusarski	Danny Fatheree
2006	76-63	3rd	Dave Clark	League Champs	John Tamargo Jr.	Joe Slusarski	Danny Fatheree
2007	67-73	6th	Dave Clark		John Tamargo Jr.	Stan Boroski	Danny Fatheree
2008	55-85	8th	Luis Pujols		John Tamargo Jr.	Stan Boroski
2009	61-79	7th (t)	Luis Pujols		Keith Bodie	Stan Boroski
2010	63-77	7th	Wes Clements		Mark Bailey	Travis Driskill
2011	50-90	8th	Tom Lawless		John Moses	Don Alexander
2012	81-59	1st	Keith Bodie	Lost in 1st round	Joel Chimelis	Gary Ruby
2013	83-57	1st	Keith Bodie	Lost in 1st round	Tim Garland	Gary Ruby	Mark Bailey
2014	67-73	7th	Keith Bodie		Tim Garland	Gary Ruby	Tom Lawless
2015	89-51	1st	Rodney Linares	Lost in 1st round	Dan Radison	Doug Brocail	Tom Lawless
2016	85-55	1st	Rodney Linares	Lost in 1st round	Dan Radison	Dave Borkowski
2017	67-71	4th (t)	Rodney Linares		Joel Chimelis	Dave Borkowski	Tommy Kawamura
2018	82-56	1st	Omar Lopez	Lost in 1st round	Troy Snitker	Bill Murphy	Mycal Jones
2019	66-73	6th	Omar Lopez		Tim LaMonte	Graham Johnson
2020	Season cancelled
2021	54-65	9th	Gregorio Petit		Rafael Pena	Graham Johnson	Micheal Thomas
2022			Gregorio Petit		Aaron Westlake	Thomas Whitsett	Dylan Mazzo

Further Reading

• Ashlee Burns: "Minor league baseball promotion puts cell phones out of reach", USA Today, June 20, 2019. [2]

External Link

• Corpus Christi Hooks