America’s favorite pastime was Houston’s last concern when Hurricane Harvey devastated the city last week. But on Saturday, the Astros brought the game — and perhaps some hope — back to their community.
HOUSTON — That they were playing baseball at all seemed something like a miracle. It was just a week ago that Hurricane Harvey made landfall on the Texas shore, unleashing more rain that any storm ever had over the continental United States. More than 50 inches of the stuff, leading to catastrophic floods all over the region, displaced thousands of citizens and stranded many more.
The Houston Astros were in California then, playing the Los Angeles Angels. After a night of limbo in Arlington, Texas, they then headed to Tampa-St. Petersburg to play what should have been a home series against the Texas Rangers. The team was forced to watch the aftermath of the storm unfold from afar, in horror, through images that came one after the other in the media. It seemed a forgone conclusion that they’d stay in Florida to play the New York Mets this weekend. Then they would head back West for another road trip. They had little hope of seeing home anytime soon and ached over their inability to help a city that needed every able hand.
But the weather cleared up, the waters began to recede and suddenly, on Wednesday, even Houston mayor Sylvester Turner insisted the Astros return home. And so Saturday, they did.
„Hello, Houston, “ manager A. J. Hinch said, addressing the crowd before the game. „It’s good to be home.“
The usual preparations are under way at Minute Maid Park for today’s doubleheader between the Astros and the Mets. Like most of downtown Houston from what I’ve seen, there is little evidence of storm damage at the park. The starkest reminder of what’s going on has simply been the lack of people around. That will change as first pitch approaches.
Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Staff Writer
I had flown to St. Petersburg to cover the Astros, then altered my plans to trail them back to Houston. It was hard to know what to expect after all of the terrible images we have all seen over the last week. After connecting in Atlanta, I took a smooth flight to George Bush Intercontinental Airport — on-time — riding with a lot of people who were anxious to get home.
When we descended below the cloud line and the outlying region of the Houston metropolitan area first came into view, it was stunning. Swollen rivers and small lakes that had grown into big lakes. Entire subdivisions turned into suburban islands. A freeway with lakes of muddy water running right up to both sides. An audible gasp passed through the cabin. I took a couple of pictures with my phone. A woman across the aisle asked to take pictures of my pictures.
Here is a shot I took from the plane coming into Houston last night of a flooded subdivision that looked almost like an island. But downtown, it’s all dry and the ballpark itself saw only very mild flooding. I keep trying to remember that the situation remains dire in places not far from here.
Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Staff Writer
Everything was running as normal at the airport. Yet, something was off: There weren’t as many people around as there should be. This is how it has been all through my stay in Houston; superficial normalcy around me — with catastrophe nearby, but out of sight — and too few people around in the center of the nation’s fourth-largest city. At the desk of the shuttle service I’d reserved, I was told it might be awhile. There were no drivers.
After five minutes, a driver showed up anyway, and I climbed in for a ride downtown. I was fortunate. Others had made reservations for rides back to neighborhoods that were still impossible to access. They were scrambling for solutions as I and a few others pulled away and along the route into downtown Houston.
From the freeway, there was little evidence that something out of the ordinary had occurred. The same was true downtown: dry, clean, no damage to speak of… but not very many people.
People keep asking me what it’s like here and I keep saying that where I am, it looks normal … except there are no people. The Main Street Corridor last night was quiet, though there was some activity. Still, I’m told this stretch is humming on a typical Friday night.
Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Staff Writer
I walked over by George R. Brown Convention Center, where many evacuees are being sheltered. There were a few people lingering around outside — the smokers — but it was quiet. I talked to a couple of people, both of whom said things inside were as good as you could expect. As for the Astros and the city staging a major sporting event, shrugs were the responses I got.
With little left to accomplish, I headed over to the Main Street Corridor for a bite. The neat urban street with a light-rail line running through the middle of it, lined on both sides with snazzy restaurants and bars, was mostly deserted. There were people here and there, but I was told the street was usually packed on Friday nights.
Finally, I returned to my hotel through the empty, dark streets. There was no one in the lobby when I got back.
I could see the lights already on at Minute Maid Park when I woke early Saturday. The park was just a few blocks away; the roof was closed and preparations were under way for the long day.
The streets remained still as I walked over to the park. I passed some men fixing the awning of an apartment building, the first actual storm damage I’d seen downtown. Through the labyrinthine corridors of the innards of Minute Maid Park, the Astros‘ clubhouse was opened to a much larger than usual media contingent. It had been less than 48 hours since I’d last visited with them in Florida, but the Astros had done so much since then.
Pitcher Joe Musgrove displayed a pair of cleats he had autographed by a number of children he met when the team visited the convention center on Friday.
In a nice touch, Astros pitcher Joe Musgrove had a pair of cleats autographed by children he met yesterday at the convention center near Minute Maid Park, where families displaced by Hurricane Harvey are being sheltered. Musgrove will wear the cleats through the three-game series against the Mets this weekend.
Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Staff Writer
„I figured with what’s been going on it would be a good opportunity to let the kids who are stuck in the shelters to design and draw, for them to know it was going to be on TV and see their stuff out there, “ Musgrove said. „They seemed to really enjoy it. They got a little crazy with them, but it’s cool.
„Absolutely [the best shoes I’ve ever worn] . They have a lot of meaning behind them. Not the prettiest, but it’s really special to me.“
The Astros have been emphatic all week long that, for them, baseball is secondary to the disaster at home. That attitude remained even after returning to Houston and working in the community on what Hinch called „a day of service.“ Yet, there was something else going on, too, a realization that at times like this, when games are trivial, there is a role that sports play in a city that goes well beyond the meaning of balls, strikes and runs.
„You see how these people were out of their homes and lost their cars, “ Musgrove said. „But their passion and desire for us to go out and win, we kind of seem like a highlight for them. To come in yesterday and see the people and the joy they can still have with all the stuff they are going through is really special. We’re all really excited to be home.“
This has been the tone set by Hinch all week. In fact, when he was asked how he could get his team to disassociate from the problems of the city and focus on baseball, he said he didn’t want to do that at all.
„I don’t want it out of their minds, “ Hinch said. „I want them to think about it this week. I want them to think about it next week. I want them to think about it next month, and six months, and whenever people need something and we have time and energy and money and whatever we can do to help.
„I want them to think about it. For the three hours [of the game] , we’re pros. We’re baseball people. We’ll be able to compete.“
The emotions are still raw. George Springer, Houston’s star center fielder, speaks with a mild stutter that seems ironic because he is in fact one of the most eloquent players in the game. His passion for the city has been evident in every statement he has made over the past eight days, and that didn’t change Saturday.
„It’s special to come home and to get a chance to play in front of our home fans, who we think are the best fans out there, “ Springer said. „It’s sad that circumstances of what we’re coming home to, but it shows how resilient this city actually is and how compassionate the people are.
„The debris on the side of the road, the furniture stacked up, water in places where you know there’s not supposed to be water. It’s scary. It’s sad. There are thousands and thousands of people who don’t have a home to go back to, or their home is under water.
„For us, that was a tough reality to see for the first time.“
Before the game at Minute Maid Park, they played a song called „Dreaming of Houston“ written and recorded over the last week by the band Coldplay, who had to cancel a scheduled performance here because of Hurricane Harvey.
Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Staff Writer
A lot was going on before the first game Saturday. Fans were filing in, many donating food to wives of Astros players stationed outside. Others gave cash to fundraisers working the sidewalks outside the park. First responders were lining up near the home dugout to be honored. Mayor Turner, fresh off a meeting with President Donald J. Trump, was on the field in an orange Astros T-shirt. TV cameras trailed him everywhere.
Here’s Houston mayor Sylvester Turner again, thanking some of the many first-responders who have done so much for the citizens of the region over the last week.
Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Staff Writer
Astros owner Jim Crane told media that Turner, who has become a well-known face over the past week, made Saturday possible.
„He got the message over here first, we didn’t call him on it, “ Crane said.
