Saturday, May 19, 2018
Amy Kelso
The Penn Club of Houston and the Wharton Club of Houston are extremely excited to host a pre-game lunch at Vic & Anthony’s before we watch the World Series Champion Houston Astros take on the Cleveland Indians.
At lunch we will be joined by Jeff Luhnow, fellow Quaker and Astros General Manager, who will share how he went from Locust Walk to leading Houston to our first World Series victory
Saturday, May 19th
1:00 – Registration and networking (Vic & Anthony’s)
1:30 – Featured speaker, Jeff Luhnow (Vic & Anthony’s)
3:10 – Game start (Minute Maid Stadium)
There is limited capacity so register today (below) so you do not miss out!
Cost:
$100 per person
Registration includes a lunch of heavy hors d’oeuvres and baseball ticket in the field box section. Cash bar.
$8 - valet park at Vic & Anthony’s Steakhouse (1510 Texas Avenue, Houston 77002) for lunch and pick up your car at the end of the game
This is a members only event: You must be a member of the Penn Club or the Wharton Club to register you and your guests
About our Speaker:
Jeff Luhnow was named the 12th General Manager in Astros franchise history on Dec. 7, 2011. Since Luhnow took over the baseball operations functions, the Astros Major League club has transformed into a contender with top-tier young talent, and possesses one of the best player pipelines in the industry.
In 2015, the Houston Astros advanced to the postseason for the first time in a decade, making it to the American League Division Series versus the eventual World Series Champion Kansas City Royals. Astros farm system product and Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel went undefeated at home, anchoring a pitching staff that finished the season with the best team ERA (3.57) in the American League. The first two draft picks of Luhnow’s tenure as Astros GM, Carlos Correa and Lance McCullers, debuted in 2015 and made immediate, significant contributions to the Major League club. Correa led all AL rookies in home runs (22), OPS (.857) and slugging percentage (.512) on his way to receiving American League Rookie of the Year honors. McCullers led all AL rookie pitchers in WAR (2.8) with a 3.22 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 22 Major League starts. Both promise to help shape the increasingly strong core of young Astros players moving forward.
Veteran second baseman Jose Altuve turned in another strong season in 2015, receiving his third All-Star nomination, second Silver Slugger Award and first Gold Glove Award. The Astros bullpen experienced a major turnaround thanks to Luhnow’s acquisitions of 2016 All-Star Will Harris, Luke Gregerson and Pat Neshek, who led the Astros bullpen from 29th in the Majors in 2014 to sixth in 2015. Colby Rasmus, whom Luhnow drafted for the Cardinals in 2005 and signed as a free agent prior to 2015, proved essential in the postseason for Houston, belting four home runs in six 2015 postseason games.
After unprecedented success in the minor leagues, the Astros were named the Best Farm System in all of baseball by MiLB.com in 2015. The Astros minor league system posted the best combined overall record among all 30 organizations during the regular season with a 502-405 mark. Seven Astros affiliates made it to the playoffs, becoming the second organization since 2005 to have seven minor league teams qualify for the playoffs in a single year. Of the Astros seven playoff teams, the Triple A Fresno Grizzlies and Rookie Level Greeneville Astros each captured championship titles in their respective leagues. Several of Luhnow’s draft picks were tapped for top minor league honors, including 2013 draft pick Jon Kemmer (Texas League batting champion), 2015 draft pick Bobby Wernes (New York-Penn League batting champion) and 2014 draft pick A.J. Reed, who led all of minor league baseball in home runs, RBI and OPS while batting .340, and was recently named Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year, ESPN.com Prospect of the Year, California League MVP and MiLB Offensive Player of the Year.
Prior to joining the Astros, Luhnow spent eight years with the St. Louis Cardinals as Vice President of Baseball Development (2003-2005), Vice President of Player Procurement (2005) and Vice President of Scouting and Player Development (2006-2011). During much of his time with the Cardinals, he oversaw the scouting, international, and player development functions of the club that brought in many players instrumental to the 2011 World Series victory, the 2012 NLCS team and the 2013 World Series team. Of the 25 players on the Cardinals 2013 World Series roster, 16 were drafted while Luhnow oversaw player development and scouting.
Before joining the Cardinals organization, Jeff founded Archetype Solutions, where he served as President and COO. His background also includes stints as General Manager and Vice President of Marketing at Petstore.com, and five years with the global management consulting firm of McKinsey and Company.
Jeff is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with dual Bachelor of Science degrees in economics and engineering. He also earned his MBA from Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. Jeff is a U.S. citizen, but was born and spent more than 15 years in Mexico City, Mexico, and is fluent in Spanish.
He and his wife, Gina, reside in Houston. Jeff has three children, Elizabeth, Jeffrey and newest addition Henry.
