A Plea to Houston Astros Fans for Remaining Home Games

The Houston Astros have 18 games remaining in the 2015 season, with nine games on the road and nine at home, the Astros need every win possible to reach the playoffs this season. Outside of Astros fans traveling up I-45 to go the Astros and Rangers series, there is not much we can do besides root for our Astros on our couches at home. If you don’t get to watch the Astros at home, maybe it’s time to hang with some friends at their house or at a dining establishment. The Astros are a good product to watch this year; it’s a shame that some of you can still not watch them.

When the Astros come home this Friday, they will begin their last homestand of the season with the Oakland Athletics. The nine-game homestand will feature division rivals A’s, Angels, and the Rangers again. The Astros last six games of the seasons are against the Mariners and Diamondbacks on the road. While these two teams are not having their best seasons, the Astros have struggled in road games this series. Depending on how the Astros play this week versus the Rangers on the road, this could decide the importance of those last games on the road.

The Rangers fans are giving us a preview of the environment during a playoff game when they had the lead and Cole Hamels was trying to get out of the seventh inning. They were on their feet, booing every called ball during that inning. The crowd was chanting throughout the whole game. Rangers fans know what’s at stake in the final games of the season, it was not a packed house, but they were loud.

I am not able to go to every game, but the games I will go to, I want to be able to stand up during a big moment to cheer on the team without being worried about blocking the person’s view behind me. I want to be able to chant “Let’s Go Astros” throughout the game. Last night’s game felt like the playoffs, and that’s what should it should feel like this weekend at Minute Maid Park. The Astros have a pretty good chance of making the playoffs, but every win counts for them at this point.

I know that school has started, people have to work, but these young Astros need your support down the stretch. Following Legends weekend, I wrote about what some of the 2005 Astros had to say about crowd support here: Houston Astros: The Players Need Fans’ Support, Be Loud! In that press conference, Morgan Ensberg said that the crowd noise does help, he couldn’t explain why, it just does. This team is a young team, and your energy can affect them. For the parents out there who have watched Over the Hedge, the crowd noise could be like giving the hyperactive squirrel caffeine.

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You see the energy and dancing that the Astros exhibit on a normal basis, imagine if the crowd was rocking the stadium, they would be super pumped. Remember game 4 of the 2005 NLDS, I recapped the experience here: Favorite Astros Moment: Game 4 of 2005 NLDS. Houston has supported the Astros in the past and they will continue to.

The Rangers are now 1/2 games behind the Astros following last night’s 5-3 loss. While it’s not the end of the world if the Rangers go ahead of the Astros in this series, but it does put the Astros at a disadvantage. Thomas wrote about the importance of the series here: Can the Houston Astros Carry Yesterday’s Momentum in to Arlington? They lost the battle, but maybe we can win the war.

The Rangers fans had a big impact on last night’s game, but what you can do Arlington, we can do better! This is the last time I say something positive about the Rangers.

Next: Houston Astros: What if the Astros don’t make the playoffs in 2015?