Houston's Baseball Future Meets Houston's Baseball Past

Chris Wallace was only 11 years old when the Astros played their final game at the Astrodome in 1999. This Astro of the future was two months old when Craig Biggio made his major league debut. Wallace was a senior at Cy-Fair High School with tickets to Game 5 when the White Sox swept the Astros in the 2005 World Series. Now after growing up surrounded by Houston baseball history, Chris Wallace is aiming to write his own chapter of that history.

The Astros drafted Wallace out of the University of Houston in June 2010. After spending the 2010 summer with short season Greeneville and Tri-City, Wallace sped up the club's minor league ladder in 2011. He started the campaign at Low A Lexington, and was promoted to AA Corpus Christi after just 66 games. The rigors of his first full pro season took a toll on him after he got to Southeast Texas. "The first three weeks in Corpus took a toll on me," Wallace said in an interview at the Houston Baseball Museum. However, despite the fatigue and an injury, Wallace appeared in 36 games for the Hooks, hitting six home runs and driving in 29 runs.

Wallace is spending the off-season in Houston working out with Humberto Quintero, Bud Norris, Ross Seaton, and Jarred Cosart several days a week. He is aiming to lose 10 pounds in preparation for his second full season, which will likely start in the heat of Corpus Christi. While Whataburger Field IS his likely opening assignment in 2012, Wallace witnessed first hand that Corpus can be a launching pad to Houston. He saw three teammates, J.D. Martinez, Jose Altuve and Jimmy Paredes make the jump to Minute Maid Park from AA in the 2011 season. Seeing those players success was an added motivator for Wallace who said the promotion of the young trio made him think, "That could be me. You never know who's going to get called up."

In about three months, Wallace will be heading back to Florida for Spring Training. Will 2012 be the year he starts writing his chapter of Houston's baseball history?

NOTE: I interviewed Chris at the Houston Sports Museum which is located inside the Fingers Furniture Store at 4001 Gulf Freeway(77003). The store was built on the site of Buffs Stadium, which was the home of the Houston Buffs minor league baseball team from 1928-61. A replica home plate from Buffs Stadium is in the center of the exhibit. A majority of the museum is devoted to baseball with artifacts from the Buffs, Colt 45s and Astros. However, other Houston sports are included as well. Admission is free and the museum is open during Fingers' regular business hours.