Game was extra ‘sweet’ for Astros fan in L.A.
Christmas had already come early for Luke Mickelson.
Being a part of Houston history was merely an added benefit. And catching a home run off Jose Altuve? “That was pretty sweet.”
The Baytown native moved to California five years ago to accommodate his wife’s job in San Diego with the Navy, leaving behind friends, family and his beloved Astros.
Each year since, he said, he’s hoped for a World Series pitting the Astros against the Los Angeles Dodgers. So when the two teams punched their tickets to play on baseball’s biggest stage, Mickelson was waiting eagerly to buy tickets.
It was $950 for a seat in the nosebleed section, he said — expensive, not worth it.
No — if he was going to spend that kind of money, it was going to be for prime real estate.
But so, too, is $3,000 for two outfield tickets expensive. So he called his mom, who said she’d split the cost and call it an early Christmas present for her 37-year-old son and 11-year-old grandson, Kepler.
By the 10th inning, he was growing worried. The Dodgers had tied the game an inning earlier, and his friends were commenting on his Facebook, requesting that he bring the Astros luck.
And so he did what any loyal fan would: He channeled his inner “Houston Strong,” stood up and flexed — a lone orange shirt in a sea of blue-clad Dodger faithful.
Moments later, a ball was en route, courtesy of Altuve.
“When he hit it, it actually landed about 10 or 12 feet away,” he said.
“That was the one,” he thought to himself. “I wish we could have caught that one.”
Then came a bump on his foot; his neighbors in the stands had made fielding errors. The ball had shaken loose and rolled perfectly toward his heel.
“I didn’t even see it coming,” he said. “It was pretty sweet.”
He’d grown up watching the Astros. The series and game and the chance to watch it with his son meant so much to him.
He soon started thinking about Altuve.
“That’d be a pretty special ball for him,” he thought.
Michelson ultimately gave the ball to someone who works with the Astros, hoping that returning it to its sender might be rewarded with an autograph or two.
A day later, he said he hasn’t heard anything.
“I’ve had so many messages coming through my phone, so I could have missed something,” he said. “I’m not anxiously waiting. I know they’ll do something.”
His son spent Thursday as a minor celebrity, arriving at school to be greeted by classmates who’d watched him on TV. His teacher even played the video for the class.
“He’s been to a few games before, so he knows this is a one-in-a-million deal,” Mickelson said of his son.
Mickelson, meanwhile, is as confident as ever in his hometown team.
Before the series started, he said he’d predicted the Astros would win the championship in five games, allowing them to clinch their first World Series win at Minute Maid Park. He believes that now more than ever.
“This is our year,” he said. “I really do believe that. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs, but a lot of that’s just part of the ride. It’s not gonna come easy.”
robert.downen@chron.com twitter.com/robdownenchron