Astros manager Cecil Cooper credits Bud Selig for sparking the best years of his baseball career, and for that, he’s forever indebted to the Commissioner of Major League Baseball.

Selig was the owner of the Brewers in the winter of 1976 when he arranged for a trade that brought Cooper to Milwaukee from Boston. Selig gave Cooper a chance to be the club’s full-time first baseman, and Cooper rewarded his owner by producing two Gold Gloves and five All-Star appearances.

Three times, Cooper was named the Brewers’ team MVP and he still holds the Milwaukee franchise records for both hits and RBIs in a single season.

Selig took a chance on Cooper when he acquired Cooper from Boston in exchange for George Scott and Bernie Carbo, and Cooper has never forgotten the gesture. On Friday, he and third-base coach Ed Romero, who played for the Brewers from 1977-85 and again in ’89, visited with the Commissioner for about 30 minutes at his Milwaukee office.

“We visited about old times again,” Cooper said. “How the Brewers are doing, how the Astros are doing, how [Astros owner] Mr. [Drayton] McLane is doing. Talked about the state of baseball. He always seems to make time for you.”

The two briefly discussed Cooper’s three ejections by umpires this year, but did so with a light-hearted tone.

“I told him from now on, I’m going to be a little calmer,” Cooper said. “He said, ‘Relax, enjoy the moment and have fun with it, too.’”

Cooper last played for the Brewers in 1987, but he’s still received warmly in Milwaukee, which the Astros’ skipper considers his second home.

“It’s always a thrill to come back to Milwaukee,” he said. “The fans are great, the people recognize you everywhere you go. It’s just a fun place to be. I had a lot of great years here, a lot of great friends, a lot of wonderful times here and I had a lot of success here.”

Hookscenter.com wire report.