February 24, 2004
To say that Houston Astros fans are a bit excited about the 2004 season would be an understatement. The best way to measure fan support is by ticket sales:
The folks in the Astros' ticket office had a busy day Monday as fans requested tickets to watch Roger Clemens make his first start for the Astros in the third game of the season April 7 against the Giants.
According to Jayson Stark, it isn't just opening series tickets which are selling:
Ticket sales were brisk a day after Jimy Williams announced that Roy Oswalt would start opening day, followed by Andy Pettitte on April 6 and Clemens on April 7.
Opening-day tickets sold out in a franchise-record 15 minutes when they went on sale Feb. 6, and April 7 was reaching sellout status as fans tried to buy tickets for Clemens' first start in Houston. Pettitte's April 6 start also was drawing a lot of interest Monday.
They've sold 5,000 more season tickets this year than they had at this time last year. Heck, they sold 2,000 of them in one week after Clemens signed. They're talking about drawing 3 million people. But most amazing of all, they're talking about a phenomenon that can change the whole perception of their sport in their community.
I, for one, am not surprised the Oswalt is getting the opening day start. In my opinion, his current pitching is as good as that of Clemens and Pettitte (at this point in their careers). Miller should also produce this year and I just heard that Carlos Hernandez is getting back into form. I hope he is healthy because he may need to take Tim Redding's spot in the rotation if Tim fails to produce.
