Houston Astros “Take It Back” claiming 2019 AL Pennant

Story and photo by Lou Roesch

Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (October 20, 2019)  Long before the first pitch was thrown in spring training, the Houston Astros had a mantra “Take It Back.” Those three words came after the presumed 2019 regular season MVP Alex Bregman sat down with Houston president Reid Ryan and the marketing staff. On Saturday night, October 19, 2019, the Astros seized back the American League pennant after being knocked out last season by the Boston Red Sox. The 6-4 defeat of the New York Yankees leaves Houston only four games from seizing back the title of world champions. Astros second baseman Jose Altuve, the ALCS MVP, saw to that with a walk-off two run homerun at Minute Maid Park.

Houston jumped on Yankees starter Chad Green in the opening frame. With two on, first baseman Yuli Gurriel launched a sinking liner into the Crawford Boxes in left field and Minute Maid went into a frenzy. The atmosphere began to intensify the closer New York drew. In the second, the Bronx Bombers answered back plating Did Gregorious on a cutting the deficit to two. Two innings later, the deficit was one as Gio Urshela, the Cartagena, Columbia native, took Houston reliever Jose Urquidy deep to centerfield.

The game would stay that way utill Houston got the insurance run back on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Bregman. The chess match between Astros manager AJ Hinch and Yankees skipper Aaron Boone continued unabated as each side squandered scoring opportunities till the ninth. Houston brought in their closer Roberto Osuna to seal the victory instead he allowed New York back in. Leadoff hitter DJ LeMahieu dropped one over the outstretched glove of George Springer into the seats in right setting the stage for Altuve.

Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman appeared to have the Astros number throwing 12 straight strikes in retiring the first two Astros hitters before the wheels fell off. Springer drew a walk on five pitches as Altuve stepped to the plate.

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“It’s going out to left,” ace Gerrit Cole, as later recounted to Fox Sports, predicted on the Astros’ bench when Altuve came to the plate in the ninth. “And it’s going deep.”

With what would be the last pitch of the ALCS, Altuve crushed the 324^th pitch of the game deep into the night (407ft) sending Houston to its second World Series in three years sending the more then 43,000 in attendance into not just a frenzy but a rabid frenzy.

“This is one of the best places to play,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “To reward [the fans] with that experience of the walk-off homer, give them a chance to just go crazy at close to midnight and know that we’ve got more baseball to be played. We still have home-field for the World Series. It’s why we worked our tail off to get as many wins as we could. It is for them. We want to hang another flag for them, and we’re four wins away.”

In its quest to “take it back,” Houston posted a record 107 win season. They went a perfect 50-0 at home when leading by three in a game. The Houston ‘Boys of Summer” were a league leading 60-21. Only the Washington Nationals stand in the way of completing the quest. 

5,000 Special Baseballs Will Be Produced to Salute World Series Achievement of the Texas Rangers

Only 5,000 Special Baseballs Will Be Produced to Salute World Series Achievement

The Wait Is OVER For Texas Rangers As Half Century Drought Ends

Sales Will Benefit Make-A-Wish Foundation® of North Texas


ARLINGTON, TEXAS (October 24, 2010) This one was for all the fans that had patiently watched and waited since 1960, back when the franchise was first known as the Washington Senators before moving to Texas with a manager named Ted Williams in 1972.

With the ultimate gunslinger himself—Rangers president Nolan Ryan watching from the stands—the Texas Rangers put the half-century jinx to rest, downing their longtime playoff nemesis, the New York Yankees, in six games in the American League Championship Series to finally earn a spot in the World Series.

No franchise had ever gone this long (50 seasons) without a visit to the Fall Classic.

But now all of that bad karma is behind them, and no one could be more elated about the Rangers post-season triumphs than a special group of local youngsters who look to the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of North Texas for support as they battle life-threatening medical conditions. Nikco Sports announced it will continue to sell a special limited-edition Texas Rangers post-season baseball, and will add the official World Series logo to all 5,000 baseballs being manufactured by Rawlings. Each baseball comes with a handsome acrylic display case so that Rangers fans can showcase it at home or at the office.

These officially licensed baseballs will be sold for $39.95 on a first-come basis to raise funds and grant wishes for the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of North Texas. They will be delivered to customers in plenty of time to use as a holiday or Christmas gift idea.

In recent years, Nikco Sports has raised more than $1.7 million for children’s charities, including past projects in the state of Texas that have saluted the Dallas Cowboys, Houston Astros, Texas Longhorns football and San Antonio Spurs, as well as local stars such as Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman, David Robinson, Craig Biggio and present day Rangers owner and Hall of Fame star pitcher Nolan Ryan.

Fans can order the Rangers World Series Appearance baseballs at 1-800-345-2868 or by visiting www.nikcosports.com. Each baseball and case includes a numbered certificate of authenticity to enhance the value. Four dollars from each sale goes to the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of North Texas, with a potential goal of raising $20,000.

Each panel of the baseball contains historical information about the Rangers franchise. One panel will contain the official Rangers team logo; another spotlights the official 2010 World Series logo; other panels will contain printed information that recaps the Rangers winning the American League Western Division title, the fourth divisional title in club history, as well as the divisional series win over Tampa Bay and the ALCS triumph over the Yankees.

By winning all three games on the road in the first round of the playoffs, the Rangers made history in another way, as this was the first post-season series of any length in baseball history in which the road team won every game. The Rangers also won two of three road games in New York during the ALCS.

“It certainly looks like the Rangers are a team of destiny with their play in the post-season and their goal of reaching the World Series for the first time in 50 seasons has finally been accomplished,” said Nikco Sports CEO Craig Bidner, whose company has given back regularly to communities since its inception in 1992. “Good things happen to those who wait, and Rangers fans and their patience certainly have been tested.

“It’s a great time to be a fan of the Texas Rangers and we’re very pleased to be able to present a quality product that fans can own and reflect back on for years to come. At the same time, we are also honored to be again working with the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of North Texas to help youngsters who have some life-threatening medical conditions, as we have done on a number of occasions in the past in working on projects throughout the state of Texas that have saluted various teams and individual hometown stars. Those were all very successful projects and raised awareness for these youngsters. We hope this time around will be as rewarding.”

During the past several years, Nikco Sports has raised more than $1.7 million for charitable organizations across the nation with the issue of limited-edition sports memorabilia that has honored amateur and professional teams, as well as select athletes such athletes as Dan Marino, Brett Favre, Jerome Bettis, Tim Tebow, Ben Roethlisberger, along with Peyton Manning, Jim Kelly, Carson Palmer, Steve Young, John Elway, David Robinson, John Stockton, Magic Johnson, Roger Clemens, Ryne Sandberg, Paul Molitor, Kirby Puckett, Stephen Strasburg, Edgar Martinez, Ichiro, Ozzie Smith, Mark McGwire, Ken Griffey Jr., Whitey Herzog, Nolan Ryan, Matt Garza, Tony Gwynn, Craig Biggio and Cal Ripken Jr.

About the Make-A-Wish Foundation

The Make-A-Wish Foundation® grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. Born in 1980 when a group of caring individuals helped a young boy fulfill his dream of becoming a police officer, the Foundation is now the largest wish-granting charity in the world, with 65 chapters in the U.S. and its territories. With the help of generous donors and nearly 25,000 volunteers, the Make-A-Wish Foundation grants more than 12,600 wishes a year and has granted more than 168,000 wishes in the U.S. since inception.