Astroline to air live on SportsTalk 790 tomorrow
HOUSTON, TX - _Astroline_, the Astros popular offseason radio show, will air its second episode of 2022 on Thursday on SportsTalk 790 from 6-7 p.m. CT. Astros television broadcaster Kevin Eschenfelder and Astros radio broadcaster Steve Sparks will serve as hosts for the show, which will feature a pre-recorded interview with Astros Manager Dusty Baker.
In addition to listening along on SportsTalk 790, the show can also be heard live on the iHeartRadio App.
All Astroline shows, which are presented by Karbach Brewing Company, are scheduled to broadcast on SportsTalk 790, but are subject to change due to scheduling conflicts. Tomorrow’s show is the fifth of a scheduled 10 shows, which will air weekly on Thursdays from 6-7 p.m. CT during the remainder of the offseason. Additional show dates could be added at a later date.
This week’s Astroline will be hosted by Pluckers Wing Bar, which is located at 1400 Shepherd Dr., Houston, Texas, 77007. Eschenfelder and Sparks will be on hand for tomorrow night’s show. Astroline is open to the public with no admission charge.
Baker was named the Astros 19th field manager in franchise history on Jan. 29, 2020. He helped lead the Astros to the World Series this season, giving the club its third appearance in the Fall Classic in the past five seasons and its fourth in the Series in franchise history. In his two seasons as Astros manager, Baker has a 17-12 (.586) postseason record, which is the best in franchise history. The veteran skipper is one of the most successful managers in Major League history, amassing 1,987 wins in his 24 seasons as a skipper, which ranks 12th all-time. In April, he passed Hall of Fame manager Casey Stengel with his 1,906th career win to move into 12th place. Baker reached two additional milestones in 2021. When the Astros clinched the AL West title in September, he became the first manager in MLB history to win division titles with five different clubs. Also, when the Astros advanced to the World Series in October, Baker became the ninth manager in history to win pennants in both the AL and NL. For his efforts, Baker was named 2021 Manager of the Year by Baseball America.
Eschenfelder, who was voted in as the 2020 inductee into the Houston Baseball Media Wall of Honor, just completed his 25th season as the Astros pre-and postgame host for their television rightsholder, AT&T SportsNet Southwest. Now in his 31st year working in the Houston media market, Eschenfelder got his start in 1991 at Fox Sports Net, covering all three of Houston’s major professional sports teams. He began hosting the Astros and Rockets pre-and postgame shows in 1997 for Fox Sports Southwest, before continuing in that role for FS Houston, Comcast SportsNet Houston and AT&T SportsNet SW. In addition to his current pre-and postgame duties for Astros games, Eschenfelder fills in on the Astros television and radio broadcasts as a play-by-play announcer and commentator. A native Houstonian and a graduate of the University of Houston, Eschenfelder has been the radio voice of the University of Houston Football team since 2013.
Sparks will be returning for his 10th season in 2022 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
Thur. Jan. 13 KBME
Thur. Jan. 20 KBME
Thur. Jan. 27 KBME
Thur. Feb. 3 KBME
Thur. Feb. 10 KBME
Thur. Feb. 17 KBME