If his MLB transaction record was a rap sheet, Gregorio Petit would be wanted in nine states and three countries. Driving Major League Baseball’s human resources department batty with at least 74 recorded trades, releases, and signings for two solid decades, Petit has landed in Texas’ Coastal Bend for his first managerial post at age 35. Diane, the HR gal for MLB, can finally take a breather.

The Houston Astros announced Petit as the new manager for their Class Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks, January 27.

Petit, a native Venezuelan, was an Astros infielder in 2014, and Hooks GM Wes Weigle offered this verbal welcome: “We’re eager to have Gregorio in Corpus Christi, and welcome him back to the Astros organization. His extensive experience at the Major and Minor League levels as a player will be invaluable as the leader of our clubhouse and in guiding the Hooks’ staff.”

Petit replaces Hooks manager Omar López (a fellow Venezuelan), who skippered the team in 2018 (winning Texas League Manager of the Year) and 2019. López was promoted to the Astros’ major league staff as first-base coach in December, replacing former first base coach Don Kelly, who moves on to the Pittsburgh Pirates as bench coach.

The Journey of His Million Miles Begins…

Petit (pronounced peh-TEET) was signed by the Oakland A’s as a 16-year-old international free agent on July 17, 2001. A native of Ocumare del Tuy in northern Venezuela, the 5’10”, 200-pounder played 16 seasons of pro ball from 2003 through 2018.

His MLB line includes 197 games with a lifetime .249 average. Spending the lion’s share of his playing time in the minor leagues, Petit clocked in 1,315 games and accrued a combined .269 average with 71 home runs and 548 RBIs.

Petit spent the 2014 season in the Astros organization, hitting .278 in 37 games for Houston and .297 with 10 home runs in 85 games at Triple-A, earning a spot on the Pacific Coast League Midseason All-Star team.

In his 16 years as a pro player, the minor league bus rides, the cheap motels, the fast food restaurants, and the host families must all number in the many hundreds, if not thousands. Then, there are the miles. From Vancouver, British Columbia to Dunedin, Florida; from Caracas, Venezuela to Buffalo, and from Sacramento to Tampa, Petit has logged enough miles to make googol’s one hundred zeroes sit up and take notice.

A veritable master of the minors’ highest level, Petit has suited up for more than 1,200 AAA games, and for eight different AAA teams.

Petit last donned a glove and some cleats in the early weeks of 2019, playing for Caracas in the Venezuelan Winter League; and, before that, splitting 2018 with 26 games for the Minnesota Twins, and 79 with their Triple-A Rochester Red Wings affiliate.

While with the Twins, Gene Glynn, the team’s infield coach had this to say about the always-smiling Petit: “He’s about as positive a guy you could ever have on a team.”

Astros Try To Rekindle 2014 Huge Petit Magic

Petit was 29 years old in January 2014 when the Astros signed him to a minor league contract and invited him to Spring Training, a precise scenario that had occurred for him in each of the preceding three years with one team or another.

Even by this point, Petit had become the poster boy for all the league’s journeyman players: Endless minor league demotions mixed with the occasional winter league foray, and enough cups of coffee in The Show to start a souvenir mug collection.

In mid-June, 2014, just a few weeks before his call-up to Minute Maid, Petit hit a walk-off homer for Houston’s then-AAA Oklahoma City RedHawks, setting up his magical Astro moment on the first of August:

Some Are Lucky, Summer Good

On that August 1, Petit, still hanging onto rookie status, was buried in the ninth hole of this Astros 2014 lineup at home and playing shortstop alongside Jose Altuve at second base. Altuve was in his third full season with Houston and was well on his way to his first of three AL batting titles.

Petit had accrued only 25 MLB games prior to this contest, totaling just 56 plate appearances for the Oakland A’s over 2008 and 2009.

Promoted from Triple-A just a week before, Petit led off the bottom of the eighth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays, with the game tied at one. In this situation, the right-handed batter is just looking to get on for Altuve, and the heart of Houston’s lineup that followed: Robbie Grossman, Chris Carter, and Matt Dominguez.

Petit liked the first pitch Jays’ lefty reliever Aaron Loup showed him. A 344-foot blast into the Crawford Boxes followed, to pull the ‘Stros into a 2-1 lead… Petit’s first major league homer. The Astros went on to win, 3-1, pulling them to a full 20 games under .500, at 45-65.

After the game, it wasn’t hard for reporters to get Petit to gush about his first big league homer: “I didn’t know what I was thinking,” he told mlblogs.com at the time. “I just wanted to run to the dugout, and get water in the face like in Oklahoma City for a home run celebration.”

Petit got his wish upon descending into the Astros’ dugout. Jon Singleton, Grossman and all of his former OKC teammates were happy to oblige in Petit’s celebratory dinger dowsing.

“I’m going to have to find a special place for this,” Petit said, upon being presented with his newly-authenticated home run ball about an hour after that special 2014 game-winner.

Petit found a special place for that ball, as he and his family have made Houston their home base since that memorable year.

Hooks Snare Keeper

At 35, Gregorio Petit now continues his lifelong diamond dream surrounded by baby Astros on yet another diamond. He won’t be DFA-ed next week or demoted to another level next month.

Now, he, his wife and three young children will have the chance to put down some Corpus Christi roots, teaching youngsters he may eventually follow, at some point, to Houston, continuing his new leadership role.

Welcome home, Gregorio.