MAX SPORTS: Houston Astros

Showing posts with label Houston Astros. Show all posts

Friday, 5 September 2025

"IT'S ACTUALLY RIDICULOUS": ASTROS STAR FIRES BACK AFTER YANKEES MANAGER HAS HIS BAT CONFISCATED

THOMAS SHEA-IMAGN IMAGES

Astros outfielder Taylor Trammell hit a stand-up double Thursday night during the ninth inning of the game between Houston and the New York Yankees. Shortly thereafter, Yankees manager Aaron Boone asked umpires to inspect Trammell’s bat. The umpires ended up confiscating the bat without imposing any other form of penalty, leaving many, including Trammell, confused.

Taylor Trammell responds

“It’s actually ridiculous. I have no idea what really happened,” Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reported Taylor Trammell said after the game.

“I’ve had that bat since I’ve been here. I’ve had it for a long time. I usually take BP with it. I use it in games, I use it in (Triple-A Sugar Land), use it every time I need. The only thing I just don’t have a gloss finish on my bat. It’s matte. Paint wears down. That’s what happened.

“I just got word they thought my bat was shaved down too much. To be honest, I have no idea how you have shave down a bat. I don’t know what it is. I feel kind of defensive right now, more so a test of my character of like I’m going to willingly do that. Just kind of lost on that thing, and if anybody knows me knows I’m never going to cheat any turns or anything like that. I have no idea. That’s baffling to me that it was even checked. They didn’t like it. Sorry. I used it the first at-bat and it wasn’t a problem. I struck out and it wasn’t a problem then.”

Aaron Boone explained why he wanted Taylor Trammell’s bat to be inspected after the game. He said the Yankees noticed some discoloration on the bat and just wanted it checked.

“It’s just something we noticed this series and asked the league about. Yeah, you’re not allowed to do anything to your bat. And I’m not saying he was. We noticed it and the league thought it was maybe illegal too. So I wanted to at least ask about it,” Boone said, adding, “The discoloration was on the label, like, I don’t know if it was just natural or if it was sand, I don’t know. I don’t want to accuse Taylor. I’m not saying anything untowards or whatever. We noticed it though on video while we were here and we actually mentioned it to the league and they said, ‘No, that looks like an illegal bat.’ So that was it.”

Astros manager responds

Astros manager Joe Espada said Taylor Trammell’s bat was being sent to the league office to be checked out.

“The bat was worn down a little bit,” Espada said. “He uses that bat all the time and I guess they thought it was an illegal bat. So the league wants to take a look at the bat. I thought it was… whatever.”

Whatever indeed. Taylor Trammell is batting .208 this year and possess a career batting average of .177. So if he is using a cheater bat, he really needs to get himself a better one.

- DOUGLAS CHARLES

Saturday, 19 July 2025

HOUSTON ASTROS VS. SEATTLE MARINERS

Saturday, 27 April 2024

MLB PRESENCE IN MEXICO GOES BEYOND JUST HOSTING ANOTHER REGULAR SEASON

AP Photo

MEXICO CITY (AP) — When the Houston Astros take on the Colorado Rockies this weekend, it will be the seventh regular-season series played in Mexico. Major League Baseball's presence in the country, however, goes far beyond that.

Mexico became one of only six countries in the world with an MLB office in 2016. For Rodrigo Fernandez, the head of the organization south of the border, the regular-season series may be the biggest event, but it's far from the only one held in the country.

Among those, the MLB office runs a program called First Pitch to promote the game among kids. Another is the MLB Cup, a nation-wide tournament for 11 and 12 year olds that recently finished its fifth championship.

“For us (the series) is the cherry on top of the cake because we have many activities through the year,” Fernandez told The Associated Press. “The MLB Cup is broadcasted by ESPN and is the biggest tournament of its kind in Mexico. Those kids are Mexico’s future.”

The MLB office in Mexico, alongside the Mexican baseball federation, held the tournament with 28 teams. The finals were played in Mexico City.

“We want to send the message to kids that we are interested in them playing baseball. Many of them will probably end up being signed by the Mexican Baseball League, but also, they are going to play for the national team in their age group,” Fernandez said.

Fernandez has been the only director of the office since its creation in 2016. Before taking over, he worked as general manager of operations for World Wrestling Entertainment for Mexico and Latin America.

Besides Mexico, Major League Baseball has offices in London, Tokyo, Beijing and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The office is inside a luxury tower adjacent to the upscale Artz Pedregal shopping mall in the southern part of the city.

Even though Fernandez's position remains the same, some of the goals from MLB in Mexico have changed. In 2016, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said he wanted to see if Mexico could be a potential site for expansion. But a year ago, Manfred said he’s “never been close to the idea of Mexico as an expansion opportunity.”

“Commissioner Manfred has a commitment and very high interest in Mexico, however there are several factors that have made us change our strategies and now solidifying the local leagues is the main step for us,” Fernandez said.

The MLB office in Mexico already works closely with the Mexican baseball federation and they are trying to forge a closer relationship with the Mexican Baseball League, led by league president Horacio de la Vega.

Since de la Vega took over in 2021, the league has seen increased attendance at stadiums, the games are broadcast on national TV and on streaming services. That has helped grow the sport’s popularity among a new generation of fans.

“I think (fan attendance) has increased, before there were a lot of old people in the park,” 63-year-old fan Carlos Hernandez said before a game between the Diablos Rojos and Tigres in Mexico City. “And now there are more fans, especially young ones.”

According to Othon Diaz, the Diablos Rojos president, nine years ago 53% of the team’s fans were 55 years or older and now 74% of them are under 45. Also, they averaged 3,000 fans per game and now it’s up to 11,000.

For some of those hard-core fans, having an MLB regular-season series is nice, but only for those who can afford it.

Fernandez said tickets for the Astros-Rockies series sold out in an hour and now the asking price on the resale market goes from $70 up to $580.

“It’s a good show, but the ticket prices are a little bit high. With the cheapest one you could come (to see the Diablos Rojos) for half of a season,” said Hernandez, who went to see the Diablos with his wife and two sons.

Mexico first hosted MLB games in August 1996, when the San Diego Padres faced the New York Mets in Monterrey. The Padres faced the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2018. And in 2019, the Cincinnati Reds played the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Houston Astros faced the Los Angeles Angels.

Mexico City was due to host a series between the Padres and the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2020, but it was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Last year, the Padres played against the San Francisco Giants.

According to Fernandez, there are plans to bring regular-season games to Mexico every year through 2026, though not necessarily at the same venue. Meanwhile, the work continues to help spread the popularity of baseball in the country.

-CARLOS RODRÍGUEZ

Saturday, 2 March 2024

SPRING TRAINING ROUNDUP: ASTROS BEAT NETS IN 10-8 SLUGFEST

USA TODAY Sports

Shay Whitcomb hit two RBI doubles and Jacob Melton smashed the eventual game-winning home run as the Houston Astros put together 10 consecutive runs and held off the host Washington Nationals 10-8 in a spring training game Friday in Palm Beach, Fla.

Melton's two-run homer in the seventh inning put the Astros ahead 9-4, and Joey Loperfido added a run-scoring double in the eighth before Washington pushed back. Alex Call hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the frame and two runs scored on his fielder's choice in the ninth -- one on a throwing error -- before Houston put the game away.

Hunter Brown (1-0) got the win with two innings of relief for Houston, in which he allowed one run, two hits and one walk. Grae Kessinger went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs for the Astros.

Nats reliever Jake Irvin (0-1) was shelled for seven runs (six earned) on five hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings. CJ Abrams opened the scoring with a solo homer in the first and an RBI single in the second to steer Washington to a 4-0 lead. The teams combined for 22 hits.

Pirates 12, Rays 8

Gilberto Celestino hit a grand slam and totaled five RBIs, Jared Triolo hit a three-run homer and host Pittsburgh outlasted Tampa Bay in Bradenton, Fla.

Bryan Reynolds hit his second homer of spring training in the bottom of the first after the Rays had opened a 3-0 lead. Mitch Keller (1-0) got the win despite allowing three runs on four hits and two walks in two innings. He struck out two.

Jose Siri had three RBIs on a sacrifice fly, a fielder's choice and a single for the Rays. Reliever Erasmo Ramirez (0-1) gave up Triolo's home run.