Mr. Gattis Goes to Washington
The Houston Astros are continuing to make other teams pay in Spring Training. They are enjoying a nice 12-5 record in Grapefruit League as of today. Even better, as they are the best AL team in Spring Training so far, the American League team with the worst record right now is none other than the in-state rival, Texas Rangers. Cloud 9 is about to run out of room to fit all of the spacemen on it, because they are all on it right about now.
As the final stop on their championship tour from last year's big World Series win, the team made the trek to the White House today to be honored by the president. So, not surprisingly, I decided to reference the title of the famed Jimmy Stewart movie for my post title. What's more, almost everyone on the team seemed to be present for the ceremony. The only big exceptions were Ken Giles because of family commitments and Carlos Beltran due to his retirement. Carlos Correa was not present today, but I have a feeling as to why that may or may not be the case. Still, to see these fellas get honored was truly something.
You can check out their big entry below, courtesy of Brian McTaggart of MLB Network (a.k.a. Taggs!):
With that in mind, however, one things that has been showing up on social media is far too much political commentary on the event. Let me stop folks right there, before anything gets too heated. Those that know me well enough know that I am a very proud, openly gay, political progressive. (Note: I refuse to say liberal because of all the negative connotations that get associated with it.) But if I can be so honest, it had and has no place for a ceremony such as this.
The Houston Astros are a diverse group of guys from all different walks of life. In many respects, they are the perfect melting pod of human beings that is America. Some of them may not have been born here, but got here as fast as their own two feet can carry them. To be honored at the White House is a tremendous thing, regardless of political leniency. Sure, there may not have been a whole lot of smiles at any given time. But that is the prerogative of the players themselves, as well as others in the organization in attendance.
So both sides, the right AND the left, really need to cease fire. If you want to make your voice heard, then go out and vote when elections come around. Otherwise, lips need to be buttoned! It is the office of the presidency that is honoring these guys, not necessarily the man in the office. We can have our disagreements, but be civil and time it right. Today's ceremony for our spacemen is not the proper time to get into heated political discussions. Save that for actual elections!
Okay, a little out of breathe for now. I will end by saying that I am proud of our boys for getting such greatness and glory bestowed upon them today. And unlike some others out there, I vow to take the high road and celebrate this achievement, rather than find ways to turn it into a negative. I will always be proud of who I am and what I personally stand for, but I refuse to let that take away from what these men have achieved.
As the final stop on their championship tour from last year's big World Series win, the team made the trek to the White House today to be honored by the president. So, not surprisingly, I decided to reference the title of the famed Jimmy Stewart movie for my post title. What's more, almost everyone on the team seemed to be present for the ceremony. The only big exceptions were Ken Giles because of family commitments and Carlos Beltran due to his retirement. Carlos Correa was not present today, but I have a feeling as to why that may or may not be the case. Still, to see these fellas get honored was truly something.
You can check out their big entry below, courtesy of Brian McTaggart of MLB Network (a.k.a. Taggs!):
The team itself also recorded the entire 20+ minute presentation. Give it a look below as well:Astros arrive at East Room pic.twitter.com/AUjnb7sHgB— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) March 12, 2018
After the ceremony, the players got to have a little fun at the podium. My favorite of these moments came from, who else, but your people's champion and mine, Evan Gattis. His old little league coach tapped this following little moment that El Oso Blanco had at the podium:Watch live as the World Series Champion #Astros are honored at the White House! https://t.co/GbC1QXSHKS— Houston Astros (@astros) March 12, 2018
Perhaps the bear may be making his own bid for the presidency in the future? Who knows? But I'll tell you one thing: If he does, as I've said many times before, he's gotta make me his campaign manager/chief of staff. Evan, let's make this happen, dude! Plenty of more pics and video can be found across social media.Longtime Dallas Tiger and Houston Astros WS champ Evan Gattis at The White House #tigernation pic.twitter.com/G92mvmNMuK— Tommy Hernandez (@dtigertommy) March 12, 2018
With that in mind, however, one things that has been showing up on social media is far too much political commentary on the event. Let me stop folks right there, before anything gets too heated. Those that know me well enough know that I am a very proud, openly gay, political progressive. (Note: I refuse to say liberal because of all the negative connotations that get associated with it.) But if I can be so honest, it had and has no place for a ceremony such as this.
The Houston Astros are a diverse group of guys from all different walks of life. In many respects, they are the perfect melting pod of human beings that is America. Some of them may not have been born here, but got here as fast as their own two feet can carry them. To be honored at the White House is a tremendous thing, regardless of political leniency. Sure, there may not have been a whole lot of smiles at any given time. But that is the prerogative of the players themselves, as well as others in the organization in attendance.
So both sides, the right AND the left, really need to cease fire. If you want to make your voice heard, then go out and vote when elections come around. Otherwise, lips need to be buttoned! It is the office of the presidency that is honoring these guys, not necessarily the man in the office. We can have our disagreements, but be civil and time it right. Today's ceremony for our spacemen is not the proper time to get into heated political discussions. Save that for actual elections!
Okay, a little out of breathe for now. I will end by saying that I am proud of our boys for getting such greatness and glory bestowed upon them today. And unlike some others out there, I vow to take the high road and celebrate this achievement, rather than find ways to turn it into a negative. I will always be proud of who I am and what I personally stand for, but I refuse to let that take away from what these men have achieved.
Original Photo Credit: Houston Astros on Twitter
Gattis rocking a bow tie and making stump speeches. Man, the bear cleans up real nice!!!!
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