Kelvin Sampson Has An Incredible Connection to The Houston Astros

The MLB season officially got underway last week and baseball season is starting to take shape as we head into the summer months.

Houston Cougars basketball coach Kelvin Sampson has experienced his fair share of sports moments during his career spanning four decades. That includes professional baseball. While Sampson has thrown out the first pitch a couple of times at Houston Astros games over the years, his connections go further than a pregame ceremony.

In a press conference before the Sweet 16 at Toyota Center, Sampson was asked about his relationship with current Astros manager Joe Espada and how Espada is inspired by him. The two Houston sports leaders now have a relationship and Espada even came out to a UH basketball game earlier this season.

Sampson took a deep dive and described a unique baseball story with a Houston twist.

Kelvin Sampson, Baseball Lover

Jun 19, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker Jr. (12) talks with Houston Cougars mens basketball head coach Kelvin Sampson (left) before the game against the New York Mets at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Sampson spoke about his relationship with former Astros manager Dusty Baker, who is considered to be a legend of the game as a player and then manager. Baker is a big name in MLB, and Sampson got to know him when he came to Houston.

Kelvin Sampson shares a baseball story: “Dusty Baker & I are good friends. We text each other. He follows our basketball program. He’d been telling Willie Mays about us. He had this special bottle of wine made for me with Hank Aaron’s jersey & he said don’t you crack that wine… https://t.co/QGB026YMiC pic.twitter.com/tMiMbT7867
— Maanav Gupta (@MGSportsTalk) March 26, 2026

"He'd been telling Willie Mays about us. He took a picture with Willie Mays and sent it to me. As soon as I got the picture, the first thing I said was God, I wish my father was alive so I could show him that picture of Dusty Baker and Willie Mays," Sampson said.

Mays, who passed in June 2024, was considered to be one of the greatest baseball players of all time. This incident was when Baker was still the manager of the Astros. Sampson went into detail and described why that moment meant a lot to him. His father's favorite player was Mays.

"Mine was Henry (Hank) Aaron, and that led me back to my relationship with Dusty cause when Henry Aaron was patrolling right field for the Atlanta Braves, Dusty was the left fielder," Sampson said.

Sampson also mentioned how both he and Baker knew who each other were when Baker first arrived in Houston, but didn't have a relationship.

"We developed a relationship when he got here. He (Baker) had this special bottle of wine made for me with Henry Aaron's jersey and his number and he said don't you crack that wine until you win a national championship, so I still got that bottle of wine," Sampson said.

Sampson then went on to chronicle his relationship with Espada and how that got started last year.

"We were down playing UCF and he texts me and asks me if he could come to the game and could he come by early and speak to me," Sampson said. They weren't able to get that done because of scheduling restraints, but the two started texting during the season and their connection developed.

"He'd (Espada) watch our games. I'm a big baseball fan, I mean I love baseball. He'd run stuff by me. Nothing major, but he was a first-time manager. I'm an old guy, seen a lot. Hadn't done a lot but seen a lot, but I'm also a giver too. I like, probably more than anything else, helping people," Sampson said.