Alan Ashby

Did You Know?

• Ashby caught 107 shutouts during his career, ranking 23rd all-time among major league catchers.
• He was second in the American League in 1977 catching 59 base stealers.

Early life

Ashby grew up in San Pedro, California, as a devoted Los Angeles Dodgers fan and attended Sandy Koufax's perfect game in 1965. Inspired by the Dodgers' all-switch-hitting infield of 1965–1966, he taught himself to bat from both sides despite being a natural lefty. He did not consider catching until his senior year of high school, when watching Johnny Bench convinced him his arm was strong enough to make the switch.

Playing career

Selected by the Cleveland Indians in the third round of the 1969 draft out of San Pedro High School, Ashby debuted on July 3, 1973, as a defensive replacement. The next day he started, collected his first hit off Mike Strahler, and later hit his first home run off Mike Cuellar. After sharing catching duties in Cleveland, he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in 1976. In 1977 he led American League catchers in caught stealing percentage (48%). In 1978 the Blue Jays traded him to the Houston Astros; this deal was later called the worst in Toronto history by a columnist. He became the primary catcher for three Astros postseason teams, setting franchise records for games caught (900, until 2005) and no-hitters caught (three). He hit the first postseason home run in Astros history, a walk-off, in Game 1 of the 1981 National League Division Series.

Broadcasting and managing career

After playing, Ashby broadcast HSE Southwestern Conference Baseball in 1990 and served as sports director and anchor for KHTV Channel 39 Houston from 1990 to 1992. He hosted the Houston Rockets Show and the Houston Cougars Football's John Jenkins Show, and co-hosted the business magazine Inside Houston in 1994 and 1995. He managed the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings of the Texas-Louisiana League in 1994 and 1995, and the Kissimmee Cobras in 1996. He joined the Astros' major league coaching staff as bullpen coach in 1997, then became the team's radio color commentator from 1998 until 2006.

He was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. From 2007 he worked as color commentator for Toronto Blue Jays radio broadcasts, later also appearing on Sportsnet telecasts. In 2012 he was named the starting catcher on the Astros' All-Time 25-Man Roster and became a candidate for the Ford C. Frick Award.