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ERIE, Pa. – On September 1, Erie native and former Penn State Behrend baseball standout Tom Lawless was named interim manager of Major League Baseball's Houston Astros.
Lawless, who has close to 25 years of experience in baseball as a Major League player, Minor League manager and coach, had served as the manager for Triple-A Oklahoma City earlier this season while Tony DeFrancesco was on medical leave before returning to his role as a roving infield instructor.
Lawless played at Penn State Behrend from 1975-78 before becoming the first-ever player to be drafted by the Cincinnati Reds on June 17, 1978. He spent two season with the Reds and then got traded to the Expos for Pete Rose on August 16, 1984. Lawless is known for his homerun in the 1987 World Series and ending Mark Langston no-hitter in the ninth inning in 1989.
Lawless began his coaching career in the minor leagues in 1992.
