BIG LEAGUE BASEBALLS

1st Commemorative Baseball for 2012 Season Announced: Houston Astros 50th Anniversary Ball

By BLB Admin on September 22nd, 2011

Just announced today, the Houston Astros will be celebrating the organization’s 50th season all year in 2012. Included in the plans are Official Major League Game Balls featuring the 50th Anniversary Commemorative Logo, likely a one-color version of the mark pictured on the right.

UPDATE: We now have the Official Game Ball (below), and have added it to the Museum of Baseballs!

2012 Rawlings Houston Astros 50th Anniverary Baseball

The Houston organization’s history includes its first few seasons under the original name, Colt .45s. You can read about the details in this team new release posted on the Astros site. Some of the highlights include:

• During all Astros home games in 2012, the official lineup cards, base jewels and official game baseballs will each feature the 50th anniversary logo.
• Friday home games next year, the Astros will wear a throwback jersey that represents a certain era in the Houston franchise. Each month will highlight a jersey from a different era, beginning with the Colt .45s uniforms from 1964.
• In a tribute to all players in franchise history, the Astros will be inviting various former Astros and Colt .45s players to throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to select home games throughout the 2012 season.

Houston Astros 50th Anniversary Logo Unveiling

It was good to see the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim celebrate their 50th Anniversary this year with commemorative game balls used year-round. As we posted about then and discussed in the Big League Baseballs forum, we hoped this would become a trend for other Major League teams to follow. The Angels did it this year, the Astros next. If the Mets also join in for their 50th anniversary and put out a commemorative ball, then we’ll call that a winning streak. (Edit: the streak is on.)

While we’re on the subject of commemorative gamers for 2012, other potential opportunities include the 100th Anniversary of Fenway Park in Boston, and the 50th year for Dodgers Stadium, as well as the obvious Inaugural Season of the Miami Marlins / New Marlins Ballpark.