CLEARWATER, Fla. - About a dozen fans who lounged on the grass berm beyond the outfield rushed Sunday afternoon to a fence near the visiting bullpen. Between the fourth and fifth innings of a meaningless Grapefruit League game, they snapped photos of the righthander with the flat orange brim of his cap pulled down.
Ken Giles, Houston Astros closer, was throwing.
He was greeted by a smattering of cheers. His first fastball registered 97 m.p.h. The next one, displayed on the scoreboard to fans at Bright House Field, went 99 m.p.h. Some fans howled like old times.