FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
» November 17, 1992: Baseball holds the expansion draft to stock the rosters of the National League's two new teams, the Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies. A total of 72 players are chosen. P David Nied is the 1st pick of the Rockies, while OF Nigel Wilson is selected 1st by the Marlins. The Fish take Jose Martinez with #2, while the Rocks pick vet Charlie Hayes. The best picks for Florida are #4 Trevor Hoffman, eventually packaged for Gary Sheffield; #11 Jeff Conine, who will hit 81 homers in four years; and #18 Cris Carpenter, later dealt to Texas for Robb Nen. For Colorado, they will find gold with #6 Eric Young, #10 Joe Girardi, #16 Vinny Castilla, and #18 Armando Reynoso. Picks #13 and 14 are good ones -- Andy Ashby, Brad Ausmus and Doug Bochtler -— but they'll all go to the Padres in 1993 in an ill-fated deal for pricey vet pitchers Bruce Hurst and Greg Harris.

» July 26, 1993: The Padres trade pitchers Bruce Hurst and Greg Harris to the Rockies in exchange for C Brad Ausmus and pitchers Doug Bochtler and Andy Ashby.

» June 18, 1996: The Padres and Tigers swap shortstops and catchers, the Tigers getting Andujar Cedeno and Brad Ausmus for John Flaherty and Chris Gomez.

» December 10, 1996: The Tigers make their biggest trade since 1957, sending four players to Houston in exchange for five Astros. Detroit C Brad Ausmus, P Jose Lima, lefties C.J. Nitkowski and Trever Miller, and IF Daryle Ward go to the National League for starters Brian Hunter and Orlando Miller, Doug Brocail and Todd Jones, and a player to come later. Brocail, also involved in the 1994 12-player swap between San Diego and Houston, will be Detroit's Opening Day pitcher in April.

» August 2, 1997: Houston C Brad Ausmus becomes the first catcher to wear the Fox Sports Catcher-Cam, a small camera on the top of his mask, in the Astros' 6–0 win over the Mets.

» August 23, 1998: Leadoff man Craig Biggio's double, two home runs, and six RBIs pace the Astros to a 13–3 victory over the Cubs. C Brad Ausmus also contributes to the cause with four hits and five ribbies for Houston. OF Sammy Sosa hits a pair of homers for Chicago, giving him 51 on the year.

» January 14, 1999: The Tigers obtain C Brad Ausmus and P C.J. Nitkowski from the Astros in exchange for C Paul Bako, pitchers Dean Crow, Mark Persails and Brian Powell, and 3B Carlos Villalobos.

» July 4, 2000: In the Tigers 11–0 blowout over Tampa Bay, Shane Halter takes over the catching duties in the 8th from Detroit's Brad Ausmus. Halter has now played every position in the majors: with the Royals, he pitched on July 17, 1998. Dave Mlicki is the winner with Dean Palmer powering a pair of home runs.

» December 11, 2000: The Tigers obtain P Chris Holt, OF Roger Cedeno, and C Mitch Meluskey from the Astros for C Brad Ausmus, and pitchers Doug Brocail and Nelson Cruz. Houston catchers threw out 22% of base stealers in 2000, while Ausmus gunned down 42%.

» September 21, 2002: Behind Wade Miller's 12th straight win, Houston beats the Cardinals, 6–3. Miller's streak ties a club record. Lance Berkman has a double and homer, driving in three runs, and Eli Marrero hits a home run for the 3rd straight game. Miller's batterymate Brad Ausmus collects his 1000th career hit, but also ties the NL record with his 30th GIDP of the season. Ernie Lombardi had 30 GIDP to set the mark.