The Loop
Man, you really hate to see the Astros biggest stars getting hit by pitches before the season even starts
Back in February, before a global pandemic hit, baseball fans had a lot to be excited about. A number of blockbuster offseason moves made 2020 an extremely intriguing year for the sport, and, perhaps most importantly, the league had a villain in the Houston Astros. Twenty-nine of the league’s 30 fanbases simply could not wait to watch opposing pitchers exact some revenge on Houston’s lovable band of cheaters.
Unfortunately, that excitement was robbed from us thanks to coronavirus, and even with baseball making its return, it won’t be the same watching these guys get (safely) beaned without fans in the stands egging it on.
Well, at least that’s what I thought before Tuesday, when no Astros had been hit by a pitch yet during the MLB’s “Summer Training” games. Three of them were hit by pitches in a scrimmage against the Kansas City Royals late Tuesday afternoon, and it just so happened that it was three of the team’s biggest stars: Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and George Springer.
Man, you can go ahead and file these two videos in the “things you hate to see” cabinet. What’s crazy is, I don’t think Kansas City pitcher Jorge Lopez was trying to hit either Bregman or Altuve, and it’s hard to tell if there was any malicious intent in the Springer video. Either way, prayers up for these guys. Imagine what’s going to happen when the season actually starts?