Chris Sampson

Christopher Keith Sampson is a professional baseball player from the United States of America who specializes as a relief pitcher. Sampson went to the Channelview High School where he played for the Falcons before moving onto college. Sampson went to the Texas Tech University before transferring to the Lon Morris College following which he was picked at the 1999 Amateur Draft, by the Houston Astros, at 263rd overall.

Playing as a shortstop, Sampson had poor hitting stats and that greatly dimmed his chances of making it to the top level. In a surprise move, midway through the A-League season, Sampson decided to bring a close to his baseball career. Retiring after just half a season, Sampson moved onto coaching baseball at the Collin County Community College where he would usually pitch during the batting practice sessions. Slowly, Sampson developed his pitching style & ability and his potential as a pitcher quickly came out.

Sampson went back to the Astros for a tryout as a pitcher. He thoroughly impressed the Astros general manager and was offered a minor league contract. Sampson began playing at the Lexington Legends, in 2003, in the A-League. Within the same year, he was moved up to the Advanced A-League to play with the Salem Avalanche. A 1-1 record in 10.2 innings pitched was good enough to warrant a start to 2004 with the Avalanche.

Sampson started all 27 games he played for the Avalanche in 2004, notching up a 3.80 ERA with a 7-11 win-loss record. In 151.2 innings pitched, Sampson had 101 strikeouts and looked quite comfortable at the level. The Astros moved him up to the AAA-League for a single game at the end of the season. In 2005, Sampson began in the AA-League with the Corpus Christi Hooks and 32 games, a 4-12 record, a 3.12 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 150 innings is what he had to show for the season.

The following year, he began with the AAA-League affiliate, the Round Rock Express. For the first time in his career, Sampson racked up a winning season and how. In 27 games, of which he started 18, Sampson pitched 125.2 innings and gave away just 110 hits. He had an ERA of 2.51 with a 12-3 record and earned a call up to the MLB roster in June 2006. Sampson would make his debut at the MLB in the same month, relieving Wandy Rodriguez against the Cincinnati Reds. Playing 12 games that season, Sampson had a 2-1 record at an ERA of 2.12 and was rewarded with a starting spot in the Astros rotation for 2007.

In 2007, Sampson was a part of 24 games for the Astros and ended the season with a 7-8 record. His ERA was at 4.59 but he remained a part of the rotation for 2008. Sampson had a decent 2008 season, playing 54 games for the Astros, starting 11. His 4.22 ERA looked worse than it actually was while his 6-4 record was a better reflection of how things went for him through the season.

In 2009, Sampson was handling a minor injury and went back to the Round Rock Express as part of the recovery process. He pitched 6 innings in 6 games, before returning to the MLB roster. Sampson had a 5.04 ERA with a 4-2 record in 2009.