HOUSTON — We’re just days away from the Astros starting another World Series run. Their postseason action this season doesn’t start until Tuesday, but fans didn’t have to wait until then to cheer on their favorite team.
On Friday, the city and team held a playoff kickoff celebration at Houston City Hall. Mayor Sylvester Turner, Astros Jeremy Peña and Chas McCormick, manager Dusty Baker, GM James Click and others got the downtown crowd fired up and playoff-ready.
“H-Town, how we feeling?” Peña asked the Astros fans who spent their lunch hour cheering for their favorite team. “You guys were great all year, but the real fun starts now. Show up on Tuesday. Show up on Thursday. We’re going to do it for you guys. Let’s get it.”
On Tuesday, the Astros will host either the Seattle Mariners or Toronto Blue Jays in Game 1 of the American League Division Series. Game 2 is on Thursday before the series moves out of Houston. Baker wants to make sure fans do their part at the games played at Minute Maid Park.
“You don’t know how great it is for the players to get your support, get your love. And they love you, too,” Baker said. “It’s a privilege and an honor to manage the Houston Astros.”
“Thanks for all the support this year,” McCormick said. “You’re the best fans in the world. We’re going to need you all playoffs. Let’s go win a World Series.”
Turner talked about how important the team is to the city and recalled how back in 2017, the Astros winning the World Series was just what Houston needed following Hurricane Harvey.
“When 52 inches of water fell on our city during Hurricane Harvey, houses were destroyed. Apartments were destroyed. People lost almost everything that they had,” he said. “And at the end of Hurricane Harvey, there was one team that stepped up in the city of Houston and literally carried this city on their backs and in their gloves and that team happened to be the Houston Astros.”
Turner also said that City Hall and the area around it would be lit up with Astros orange Friday night.
The Astros are the top seed in the American League after piling up 106 wins to only 60 losses. That’s the best record in the AL and the second-best record in all of baseball.