The Houston Astros have announced that they are currently finalizing a deal with former Astros player, broadcast color man and manager Larry Dierker that will put Dierker back in the broadcast booth during the 2004 season. The Astros have arranged to have Dierker team with television play-by-play announcer Bill Brown to broadcast the Astros’ 12 Wednesday home games on Fox Sports Net. Dierker pitched for the Astros from 1964-1976, was their color man on radio for 18 years when his playing career concluded, and then left that job to become the Astros’ manager from 1997-2001.
Dierker is a marvelous talent in the broadcast booth — bright, insightful, and engaging. After managing the Astros, he wrote this book about his baseball experiences. With his addition, the Astros now have two of the best color men working their televised games in Major League Baseball today. Jim Deshaies, another former Astros’ pitcher, is the Astros’ regular color man and is also outstanding. These two men make listening to play-by-play on Astros’ televised games a highly enjoyable experience.