The Astros brought Satchel Paige to test pitching conditions, specifically to see how breaking balls would behave in the new indoor, air-conditioned environment. This event took place on February 7, 1965, about two months before the Astrodome’s official opening on April 9, 1965. Paige’s assessment was glowing. He called the Astrodome a “pitcher’s paradise,” noting that the windless conditions allowed for greater control and movement on sensitive pitches. In an April 1965 interview with Frank Godsoe of the Amarillo Daily News, Paige said, “I’ve pitched in more places than any other man, living or dead… But there’s no place to pitch like the Astrodome stadium in Houston… Man, that place is something else!” He believed the controlled environment could have extended his career by a decade if it had existed earlier, as it eliminated variables like wind and weather that often disrupted a pitcher’s rhythm.