Late 60’s-Early 70’s Houston Astros Book

Hello Astros community, my name is Samuel Barrett, and I am 23 years old and from Phenix City, AL. I have been doing research on baseball in the 1960's, which I view as the Golden Age of Baseball (At least in the aesthetic sense), as well as on the Houston Astros from the late 60's and early 70's, particularly about what could have or should have been had they kept the right people in the front office and on the field, and I am now in the middle of writing a book about it. I am currently close to finishing a book with my blog posts from my first year umpiring in 2021, and now I'm also looking forward to getting this one started.

Much of my research has been viewing online resources such as Astrosdaily.com, digitized files from the Houston Public Library, and Larry Dierker's 49's Fastball podcast, reading autobiographies from players from that time such as Dierker, Bob Watson, Jimmy Wynn, Norm Miller, and Joe Morgan, and writing to some players that typically respond to through-the-mail requests. I have accumulated an immense deal of knowledge about these teams and what led to them underperforming, and I am constantly seeking more, especially now with this book.

To give you an idea of what all I am studying and writing about, see my table of contents to see how I plan to break down the book in the following chapters:

Introduction Notable Players Front Office Managers Astrodome Timeline 1965-1968 1969 1970 1971 1972-Beyond Uniform Significance Final Roster Conclusion Bibliography

(If anyone wants to see my final roster that the team would have had if the front office had kept the right people in power, who would have in turn help the right players on the field, or the results of each season that I have determined would have happened with this better "Orange Crush" team, feel free to ask me.)

I am currently on the 1968 portion of the timeline of this book, which I am writing under the working title "Orange Crush: What Kept The Late 60's and Early 70's Houston Astros From Turning Oranges Into Orange Juice." I have been in touch with the Astros' director of communications Steve Grande, who has told me that once I get a publisher to reach out to him on my behalf (I am currently in touch with the Texas editor of The History Press, an imprint of Arcadia Publishing that also published the book The Forgotten 1970 Chicago Cubs: Go and Glow by William Bike, who I've also spoken to about my endeavor), he can provide for me contact information for former players so I can speak with them. I also plan to get copyright permission (Barring an exorbitant cost) to use two logos, the shooting star jersey script and the original Astros logo with baseballs orbiting the Astrodome, and having them illustrated to make a great cover which I already have a sketch of.

Along the way, I will invite the reader to think open-mindedly and to use their own imagination. During the timeline chapter, as well as during other scattered portions of the book, I will provide my educated opinion of what the team would have accomplished during each season discussed, and also invite the reader to differ if they feel inclined-perhaps a reader would believe that the Astros would have done better or worse than I retroactively predict in the book!

I have been in touch with Houston author and Astros Hall of Fame committee member Mike Vance about these Astros teams and the people involved with them, and I have also reached out to former Astros historian and current Astros HOF committee member Mike Acosta, the Larry Dierker SABR chapter in Houston, and several people at Astrosdaily.com with no responses. So, if anyone would be willing to give me any information about those teams, the front office moves, the players they had, and the level of success those Astros could have had if those things had stayed in place that I may not know, or even help me get in touch with anyone who would be a big help, I would greatly appreciate it! This is a lot of work but I'm enjoying the process and I'm already imagining great opportunities having a launch rally in the parking lot of the Astrodome, hosting book signings, being interviewed by numerous sources, developing relationships with former Astros, seeing my book listed online and in stores including the Astros Team Store at Minute Maid Park, and more!