The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Morton, Springer make marks at All-Star game
Morton, Springer make marks at All-Star Game
WASHINGTON — They were teammates and key cogs for the World Series-champion Houston Astros last season, and both figured prominently as teammates at the 2018 MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday night, as well.
Their lockers were even next to each other in the American League All-Stars’ clubhouse at Nationals Park. But although George Springer and Charlie Morton grew up only about 50 miles — and six years — apart, they didn’t know each other at all until Morton joined the Astros last season.
“We know him now, though,” Springer’s father, George II, emphatically noted before the AllStar Game on Tuesday night.
Indeed, Morton played a huge role in helping the Astros win their first World Series last October, hurling 10 2⁄3 innings of tworun ball in a pair of outings. Springer was even better, earning World Series MVP honors.
This week, they were All-Stars — the second time for Springer and a first for Morton in his 11 big-league seasons.
“He’s gone through a lot to get to where he is,” Springer said before
the game. “He’s been through injuries, ups and downs. For him to enjoy this, and for us to enjoy this, is special.”
Both players played key roles in the Midsummer Classic, though for far different reasons. Morton hurled two innings and allowed a pair of home runs, the first (by former Yard Goat Trevor Story) tying the game 2-2 in the seventh inning.
Springer had a more positive night, bashing a solo homer in the 10th, right after fellow Astro Alex Bregman had snapped a 5-5 tie with a solo shot of his own. The AL wound up winning 8-6.
Springer is about as Connecticut as it gets. He was born in New Britain, where his parents still live. He went to high school at Avon Old Farms and, of course, starred at UConn for three years before the Astros made him a first-round draft pick.
Morton doesn’t have quite the same Nutmeg credentials. Born in Flemington, N.J., his family moved to Trumbull when he was 3, then Redding a little over 10 years later. He was a standout at Barlow High before Atlanta took him in the third round of the 2002 draft. Shortly after that, Morton’s family moved out of Connecticut. He currently lives in Bradenton, Fla.
“We haven’t lived there in 14 years,” he said of Connecticut, “but having grown up there, when you see other Connecticut guys that have grown up there, it’s awesome. It’s awesome to play with Georgie.”
It’s not like Springer and Morton sit back and regale each other with stories from their home state. Still, there’s a bond.
“It’s cool,” said Springer. “It’s obviously a smaller state from an area where it’s cold a lot, so it’s awesome to have another guy on the team who understands the area.”
If the two are truly fans of each other, then Springer’s parents, George II and Laura, are even more so.
“I think it’s terrific,” George II said. “It’s great to see Charlie have so much success.”
The Springers’ pride in their son couldn’t have been more evident Tuesday night, as they walked the Nationals Park concourse sporting replica jerseys with “Springer” on the back. There’s plenty to be proud of: Not only is their son a World Series MVP and two-time All-Star, he’s also embraced his role as a spokesman for people who stutter — a speech disorder that Springer has largely overcome but still battles.
“It’s just a thing where I finally came to the conclusion that I am who I am, I can’t let anything stop me that I can’t control from being myself,” he said. “I might as well go out, enjoy my life, have some fun, and hopefully I’ll help somebody along the way.”
He added that baseball is an outlet that “allows me to come out of my shell, enjoy every day.”
“Obviously my wife and I are very, very proud of George,” Springer II noted. “It’s great to see two northeastern guys, never mind Connecticut guys, having success.”