Houston Chronicle: Ausmus homer helps give Astros win over Braves

Saying goodbye wasn’t easy, even for the stoic Ausmus, who admitted getting as emotional as he can get during a pregame video tribute that mocked his lack of hitting.

As was often the case in his 10 years as an Astro, though, Ausmus got the final word. Only this time he punctuated it with his bat, drilling a two-run home run off former teammate Mike Hampton in the third inning to finish the 2008 season with a 3-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves.

“It’s amazing how that worked out,” Lance Berkman said of Ausmus’ home run. “So much of baseball is fraught with disappointment, but every once in a while there’s a moment when you say, ‘that’s justified and that’s how it should be.’ For him to hit that home run today was just a great way to go out. I mean, that’s all you can say about it.”
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Ausmus isn’t ruling out playing in 2009 if the San Diego Padres or Los Angeles Dodgers call.