The Corpus Christi Hooks are a

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

team of the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

and the Double-A affiliate of the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

. They are located in

Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi ( ; ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, Texas, Nueces County with portions extending into Aransas County, T ...

, and are named for the city's association with

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

. The team is owned by the Houston Astros. The Hooks play their home games at

Whataburger Field Whataburger Field is a minor league baseball stadium located in Corpus Christi, Texas, United States. It is home to the Corpus Christi Hooks, the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. It also serves as a secondary home to the Texas A&M–Co ...

, which opened in 2005 and is located on Corpus Christi's waterfront.

History

The history of the Hooks' franchise dates back to 1968, when it got its start in the Texas League as the

Memphis Blues The Memphis blues is a style of blues music created from the 1910s to the 1930s by musicians in the Memphis area, such as Frank Stokes, Sleepy John Estes, Furry Lewis and Memphis Minnie. The style was popular in vaudeville and medicine sho ...

. That club won the league crown twice, in 1969 and 1973. In 1974, the franchise moved to

Victoria, Texas Victoria is a city and the county seat of Victoria County, Texas, United States. The population was 65,534 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The three counties of the Victoria, Texas metropolitan area, Victoria Metropolitan Statis ...

and played in Toro Stadium, where it captured the league title in its lone season as the Toros. The following year, the club moved to

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

where it would remain for the next 25 seasons, first as the Mets (1975–1990), then as the Generals (1991–1999). The franchise qualified for the playoffs 13 times and won the TL championship on five occasions (1981, 1984, 1985, 1993 and 1996). During the years 1980–1987, Jackson dominated the league, making it to eight consecutive post-seasons. Hall of Famer

Nolan Ryan Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB), Ryan pitched for the New Yo ...

and his group acquired the franchise following the 1998 season and moved it from Jackson to Round Rock in time for the 2000 season. The Round Rock Express, led by

Morgan Ensberg Morgan Paul Ensberg (born August 26, 1975) is an American former infielder in Major League Baseball. Ensberg bats and throws right-handed. He was previously a member of the Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, and New York Yankees. From 2011–12 he ...

and

Roy Oswalt Roy Edward Oswalt (; born August 29, 1977) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Oswalt played for the majority of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Houston Astros. He also played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Texa ...

, powered their way to the Texas League title in that first season at The Dell Diamond. The Express, which shattered league attendance records throughout their five-year run, also qualified for post-season play in four of those five seasons.

The move to Corpus Christi

The move of the franchise from Round Rock to Corpus Christi following the 2004 season was made possible when the owners of the Express, Ryan Sanders Baseball, acquired the Triple-A franchise in Edmonton, Canada and announced their intention to move the club to Round Rock. That paved the way for the Double-A franchise to relocate to the Gulf Coast of Texas. In 2004 the organization held a "Name the Team" contest that sought suggestions from the community for a new name for the team. The contest was won by Corpus Christi resident, Michael Braly. The team's new name, Corpus Christi Hooks was born. The team's colors are white, red, and light blue, representing the ocean and sky of the popular South Texas fishing area. The team mascots are Sammy the Seagull and Rusty the Fish Hook.

2006 championship team

One of the most exciting moments in the team's history was an appearance by

Roger Clemens William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "Rocket", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees and also played ...

on June 11, 2006, as he prepared for his return to the Astros. Clemens' start attracted nationwide attention and a record crowd of 9,022. Clemens

struck out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safel ...

11 batters in 6 innings on his way to the victory. Tickets were being sold on

eBay eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...

for up to $230. On September 14, 2006, in a wild 5 hour, 14 inning marathon, the Corpus Christi Hooks eclipsed the

Wichita Wranglers The Wichita Wranglers were a minor league baseball team based in Wichita, Kansas. The team, which played in the Texas League, was the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres from 1987 to 1994 and the Kansas City Royals fro ...

, 8–7, clinching the third and decisive game to defeat Wichita 3 games to 1 in the best of five series to win the 2006

Championship. This marked the first time a Corpus Christi franchise has won the TL Championship since the 1958 Corpus Christi Giants.

Manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Dave Clark was named 2006 Texas League Manager of the Year and pitcher

Matt Albers Matthew James Albers (born January 20, 1983) is an Americans, American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Indi ...

was named 2006 Texas League Pitcher of the Year.

Post-championship

On June 25, 2007, Whataburger Field played host to the 2007 installment of the Texas League All-Star Game. Seven Hooks players were invited to play on the squad. From 2005 to 2010, the Hooks graduated 29 players to the major leagues and had another 31 players with big-league experience wear the Corpus Christi uniform. From 2005 to 2010, a total of 163 men played for the Hooks. In conjunction with

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Hooks were organized into the

Double-A Central The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. For the 2021 season, the Hooks played every Wednesday game as the "Corpus Christi Honey Butter Chicken Biscuits".

Whataburger Whataburger is an American regional fast food restaurant Chain store, chain, headquartered and based in San Antonio, Texas, that specializes in hamburgers. Founded by Harmon Dobson and Paul Burton, it opened its first restaurant in Corpus Chri ...

, which sponsors the team's ballpark, sells the Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit, and was founded in Corpus Christi. The uniforms resembled Whataburger's table tents. In 2022, the Double-A Central became known as the Texas League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.

Notable Hooks who played in the major leagues

A number of Hooks players have been called up to the major leagues since the team has been in Corpus Christi. These include

Charlton Jimerson Charlton Maxwell Jimerson (born September 22, 1979) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder. He played in MLB for the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners. He played college baseball at the University of Miami, where he was ...

, Héctor Giménez, J. R. House,

Fernando Nieve Fernando Alexis Nieve 'knee-EH-veh''(born July 15, 1982) is a Venezuelan former right-handed professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros and New York Mets and in Korea Baseball Organization (KB ...

Chris Sampson Christopher Keith Sampson (born May 23, 1978) is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He attended Texas Tech University, where he played for the Red Raiders. Sampson stands . Career Sampson originally began his profe ...

Jason Hirsh Jason Michael Hirsh (born February 20, 1982) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros and Colorado Rockies. He stands at 6' 8" and weighs . He batted and threw ...

Hunter Pence Hunter Andrew Pence (born April 13, 1983), nicknamed "The Reverend", is an American former professional baseball right fielder and designated hitter. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, San Fra ...

, Jason Castro, Chris Johnson,

Jose Altuve Jose Carlos Altuve (; born May 6, 1990) is a Venezuelan professional baseball second baseman for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). Having played for the Astros since 2011, he is the longest-tenured current member of the team, an ...

, Fernando Abad,

Arcenio León Arcenio León (born September 22, 1986) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher. He has played for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB) in 2017. Career León began his professional career with the Houston Astros organiz ...

, J. D. Martinez,

Dallas Keuchel Dallas Keuchel (, ; born January 1, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, T ...

Josh Zeid Joshua Alexander Zeid ( ; ; born March 24, 1987) is an American-Israeli former professional baseball pitcher and current coach. He plays for Israel national baseball team, Team Israel. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Ast ...

Carlos Correa Carlos Javier Correa Oppenheimer Jr. (born September 22, 1994) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball shortstop for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Houston Astros, who selected him f ...

, Philip Barzilla,

Alex Bregman Alexander David Bregman (born March 30, 1994) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Houston Astros. As a high school sophomore at Albu ...

, J. D. Davis,

George Springer George Chelston Springer III (born September 19, 1989) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Houston Astros from 2014 to 2020. Springer has played primarily i ...

, and Yordan Alvarez.

Roster

References

External links

Official website
{{Texas sports Texas League teams Houston Astros minor league affiliates Professional baseball teams in Texas Sports in Corpus Christi, Texas 2005 establishments in Texas Baseball teams established in 2005 Double-A Central teams