White House visit fitting for diverse Astros
WASHINGTON — The Houston Astros at the White House being feted for a World Series victory is something this born-and-raised Houstonian had resolved never would happen.
Not after all the years of disappointment, defeat and disillusionment.
But here they were. Standing proud in the East Room of the Executive Mansion like they belonged.
The best team in Major League Baseball, the World Series champions. But it was more than that.
They were a perfect fit not just because they were baseball’s best team in 2017.
These Astros, a “Houston Strong” squad that has brought new meaning to “Houston Proud,” are what we have always imagined America to be.
The Astros. The United States of America.
Orange, white and blue. Red, white and blue. A great team. A great country. A team of immigrants in a nation of immigrants.
After President Donald Trump saluted the Astros and the “unbreakable spirit of the great state of Texas,” Astros owner Jim Crane, cool as he is, followed the Commander in Chief and described how the As-
tros’ success was a salve for the city in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
“I think it just united the city at a very bad time,” Crane said. “It gave it something to be cheerful for.
“We saw people sitting out in their driveway with their TVs running off a generator watching the games. It was a big uplift for the city at a time when we really needed it.”
Crane finished his remarks by saying that manager A.J. Hinch would tell the audience how the Astros were going to go about winning the World Series again this year.
Hinch, who sensed the reverence and emotion from his players when they set foot in the White House, had something bigger in mind than winning another championship trophy.
He shared that his players proved to be community leaders in their response to the hurricane. He highlighted how his team plays the game with a dedication to excellence that can’t help but be appreciated.
And he talked about what the team is made of, who it is made of.
“It’s the makeup of this team that so many people around Houston are proud of,” Hinch said. “Diversity.
“We come from everywhere. All shapes and sizes. All different countries, different backgrounds. High draft picks, low draft picks.”
What a team. What a country.
Immigrants vital
Their best player was born in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, where he and his childhood friends hit bottle caps with sticks in lieu of balls with bats.
Their future best player hails from a tiny fishing village in Puerto Rico, where his parents had to take on extra jobs so he could play the game he loves.
(His name is Carlos Correa, and he didn’t make the trip to D.C. — the team says he had a family obligation that prevented it. Maybe his obligation was to family members affected by America’s embarrassingly insufficient response to Hurricane Maria. If so, good for him being another example of what makes America great.)
Their general manager is an American who was born in Mexico City and grew up there.
Their most popular young star just might be a 23-year-old from New Mexico who became the first Jewish player to record a walkoff hit in a World Series game.
Their first baseman defected from Cuba two years ago last month.
One starting pitcher is from Virginia, another is from Oklahoma, and a third is a half-Cuban from Florida. (This season, they added a starting pitcher from Newport Beach, Calif.)
Their most valuable player in the most important series of the season might be the team’s glue. He is of mixed race: his paternal grandfather, who fought for African-American civil rights in Connecticut, is from Panama, and his mother is Puerto Rican.
The player they chose to present President Trump with a team jersey is from the deep South — Savannah, Ga. — and has donned Old Glory Speedo-styled trunks to celebrate major victories.
Every player, regardless of where he is from, has an American story.
And their manager, the man who made it a point to emphasize the team’s diversity, is a Stanford educated former average player and fired-for-being-below-average manager who is from a small town in Iowa that, according to the 2000 census, was 99.26 percent white.
National appeal
In his remarks at the White House, Hinch wasn’t political, but he didn’t stick to sports.
“When you look at our team, we come from everywhere. We’ve got some big guys, some small guys … it’s a very, very unique group, similar to our country,” Hinch said. “I want the people around the country to fall in love with the Astros as much as our city did, and that’s because of the makeup of our team.”
Often, we take sports too seriously, but we must acknowledge that this distraction, this entertainment, has a powerful place in our society.
The Astros’ makeup is why they were at the White House on Monday. Their makeup is also why they so belonged.
They hail from all over and have a wide range of backgrounds, but they came together to deliver the wondrous season many of us had only dreamed possible.
“We really came together and were the true essence of a team,” Hinch said.
That’s the American dream.