The Astros will return to stormravaged Houston for a weekend series against the Mets, but why are they playing now?
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA.— The rains continue to pour. People have died. Many are missing, almost certain to be found drowned in the days to come.
Homes that provided comfort and security and a lifetime of fond memories have been swept away from their foundations by tropical storm Harvey, leaving their owners with nothing. Businesses have been destroyed. Those fortunate enough to still be alive will never be the same.
And while the people of southeast Texas suffer through this unimaginable nightmare, a team from Houston is playing baseball at Tropicana Field. Baseball. A game. It’s absurd. Tampa Bay and the Rays and their employees generously opened up their home to allow the Astros and Rangers to play there this week. Tropicana Field is the site after a petty feud about where the games should be played.
But the real question is not where the games are being played, but why are they even being played at all?
Why didn’t Major League Baseball postpone these games? Why isn’t MLB allowing Astros players to be home with their loved ones?
“I wish we were back in Houston,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “I wish we could lend a helping hand to our families and to our friends. I don’t know what that means or what that entails or what we could possibly do.”
As Hinch said, what Houston and the surrounding area need more than anything else is for the rain to stop. But until it does and as long as the storm continues to ravage the area, the last thing we should be asking is for these men to be 1,000 miles from their home playing baseball.
They will return after this series ends Thursday night, opening a weekend set against the New York Mets at Minute Maid Park with a doubleheader on Saturday. The Astros’ home stadium escaped major damage.
“We feel that the Astros playing this weekend will provide a much-needed boost for our city,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said Wednesday.
Added Astros president Reid Ryan, whose club starts a10-game road trip after this weekend: “We hope that we can put smiles on some faces.”
Houston players were careful not to criticize the decision to go ahead with the Rangers series. They also were quick to point out that they have it easy, safe and dry while so many are in shelters.
“Obviously, it’s hard to imagine playing,” Hinch said. “(But) it’s hard to imagine not playing.”
We’re often quick to say that during difficult times, sports can be a muchneeded distraction from the life’s harshest realities. Maybe if fans can escape all their troubles, even if it’s only for a couple of hours, then we should carry on with otherwise frivolous activities like baseball. But it’s doubtful that anyone in Houston is paying attention to baseball right now. They’re more concerned with no electricity, nowhere to go and three feet of water in their homes.
“Those guys who have families, it has been weighing heavily on them,” Astro Dallas Keuchel said. “It’s tough to see these guys kind of stress out with not knowing what is going on around the city with their families.”
The Rangers are taking criticism for refusing to swap home games with Houston, and deservedly so. They could have earned tremendous respect by putting Houston above their own interests but took the selfish route instead. It’s a bad look.
But it’s a worse look for MLB. I fully understand the hassle of postponing games and trying to reschedule them. And MLB is not completely cold. It is donating money for hurricane relief. The money from the games at the Trop this week will go to charity, and that’s why fans should go and root for an Astros team that really doesn’t want to be playing ball at the moment.
“It’s my job to be out there and play the game,” Astros outfielder George Springer said. “We understand our job is to go out and compete, but we’re human beings first. We have families there and this all puts it into perspective that it truly is a game and there’s a lot more to life.”
Too bad MLB doesn’t fully understand that.