The Astros Won the World Series but Then They Unfortunately Became the Stars
Hamming It Up In Front Of The Cameras Has Become The Primary Goal For Many Astros
What Should Have Been A Dynasty May Have Become A Reality TV Show
Josh Reddick recently made the news, but it of course had nothing to do with baseball. He, like too many of his Houston teammates, has turned his focus into stardom in some place rather than on the field.
A long time fanatic about the World Wrestling Entertainment, Reddick used that organization as the theme for his highly-publicized wedding last weekend. He and his bride exchanged WWE belts instead of rings, and Reddick's belt had the insignia of another of his favorite obsessions, Spider-Man.
The right fielder is just one of the new stars from the team that won the first World Series Championship in the history of the organization back in 2017, but then got shellacked by the Boston Red Sox last season. In spite of being heavy favorites to take it all again, the Astros were ousted in just five games in the American League Championship Series.
Third baseman Alex Bregman is also desiring to be a TV star, a goal that might have adversely affected the Astros heading into the ALCS last October. He complained to the major media outlets because Houston was not getting to play on prime time, an interview that went viral and likely served as enough motivation for the Red Sox to dispatch of the Astros.
Last week Bregman again sought the attention of the media, impersonating an umpire at a youth baseball event. He admitted to intentionally making bad calls, and he laughed it off as a prank in front of the myriad reporters present.
The ace of the Houston rotation is certainly more entrapped with glam and glitter than his teammates, so it is possible that his arrival in 2017 led to the sudden sprinkling of stardust throughout the clubhouse. Justin Verlander, having married actress Kate Upton several years ago, is of course frequently hobnobbing with the Hollywood crowd.
Even former Most Valuable Player Jose Altuve, who had suffered some of the worst seasons in Houston during the first half of this decade, has caught the stardom bug that will prevent the Astros from ever recapturing that magic of two seasons ago. The second baseman has been seen all winter on TV, via an advertisement aimed at cable subscribers.
In the bit Altuve broadcasts that he is quitting, leading the entire city of Houston in grief. Finally it is made clear that he is cable he is quitting, not baseball. The commercial is kind of indicative of the trend of the Houston players in general, whose first thoughts seem to be of television rather than the baseball field.
