Houston to Start the Season off Right

Craig Biggio (Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports)

Last season, Opening Day was one of the best moments of the year for the Astros. This season, that might be the case once again. But it will not be because of anything that happens on the field.

Well, it will be taking place on the field, just not as part of the game. One of the benefits of having Nolan Ryan back in the organization, is for moments like this. It was announced that he will be throwing out the first pitch of the season to 3.000 hit man Craig Biggio.

Now I know this is not why the Astros brought Ryan back into the fold, but it is a nice secondary benefit. It is always good to recognize and celebrate history, and reuniting two franchise legends is never a bad thing. In fact Biggio caught Ryan early in his career before moving to second base.

Of course, it would be much better if they both were part of the same Hall of Fame fraternity, but that moment should be here soon enough. However it does still figure to be a nice moment for all involved.

"“You’re honored any time you get that opportunity,” Ryan said. “To do it opening day makes it special. Opening day is special versus the rest of the days in the year until you get to the postseason. Everybody’s excited and looking forward to it. It’s going to be fun.“I remember (Biggio) coming up as a rookie and being as enthusiastic then as he was his entire career. You knew he was a talented kid. Just seeing how he made that transition, which obviously he didn’t have any trouble with it. It never crossed my mind he’d end up playing second base his majority of his career. And actually they put him in center field (too).”"