Spring 2012
When he graduated from Cy-Fair High School in 2006, Chris Wallace only dreamed of someday having his name on a Houston Astros baseball card. This year, that dream will become a reality when the catcher joins the team he grew up idolizing.
Early Career
Wallace opted to stay close to home for college and attended the University of Houston. In four seasons of starting with the Cougars, Wallace had a career .291 batting average and was named to the 2009 All-Conference USA Second Team. He was a 16th round pick in the 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
Wallace started the 2011 season playing for the Lexington Legends, a minor league baseball team and Class A affiliate of the Astros, but was quickly promoted to the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks after managing a batting average of .285 in 66 games. “He’s got the leadership skills, he’s improved his catching skills, and obviously, he’s swinging the bat well,” says Fred Nelson, director of player development, about Wallace. “He’ll have his hands full, but I think mentally, he’ll be able to handle it.”
Joining His Heroes
Come March 30, Opening Day, Wallace will don an Astros jersey. “It’s awesome – one of the most exciting things in my life to be drafted by the team I grew up watching,” says Wallace. “This is a chance to play for the team of my heroes.”
Wallace remembers the Astros’ pennant race in 1998 with Randy Johnson power-pitching to a packed house at the Astrodome, the World Series run in 2005, and Craig Biggio hammering his 3,000th career hit in 2007. Wallace is excited to be a part of the team his own heroes have played for. “The opportunity is right in front of me, and it’s all up to me,” he says.
A Dream Come True
Wallace grew up playing baseball. “At 3 or 4 years old, I started swinging a bat,” he says, adding, “But I played every sport all the way through high school. I loved baseball the most, but football was right behind.” And like any boy, Wallace thought big. “Ever since I was little, I dreamed about making it to the major league.”
Playing with the Astros is a dream come true, but just because he gets to put on a brick red jersey this year doesn’t mean the hard work is over. In fact, it’s just beginning. “There are no promises in the game,” says Wallace. His off-season schedule put him at the gym four days a week through mid- December when he began hitting in the cage and throwing again.
During baseball season, there are few breaks. Wallace plays ball every day with two to three workouts a week. “A hundred and forty games is a lot of baseball,” he says. “Later in the season it gets tough, so you need to stay tough. It wears on you mentally.” But just as he prepares his body for the game, Wallace also guards his mind. “You don’t let it beat you,” he shares. “It’s important to remember you get to play again tomorrow.”
Formidable Factor
A life is rarely charmed, and it’s the bumps in the road that make a man strong in every way. At one point in his college career, Wallace almost walked away from baseball completely. During the 2009 Houston College Classic All-Tournament game, Wallace was clobbered by a pitch to the face – an experience that became a life lesson for the young catcher. “I earned about perseverance by getting hit in the face and making a comeback,” he says. “I was close to not being able to play again.”
Wallace is young enough to be a formidable factor in Astros baseball and as the system is shy of catchers, he certainly offers fans promise. He wasn’t highly scouted in his college days, but he has made great strides on a short path to the Astros. MLB Network has named him one of the Prime Nine Astros Prospects to Watch in 2012.
All-Star Advice
When asked about kids watching him come up through the ranks, Wallace says he would recommend athletics as a career choice. “Absolutely, you couldn’t have a better job than being a pro athlete, doing what you love.” CFM