MEXICO CITY -- Astros pitcher José Urquidy and Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador are anything but strangers. Obrador invited Urquidy to his office in November 2019, shortly after Urquidy joined Fernando Valenzuela as the only Mexican-born pitchers to win a World Series game. Last fall, Urquidy paid another visit to see Obrador, who's a huge sports fan. With the Astros in town for the Mexico City Series, a two-game series against the Rockies on Saturday and Sunday at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú, Urquidy returned to the president's office Friday morning. He joined a group that included Astros owner Jim Crane and his wife, Whitney, and former Rockies players Jorge de la Rosa and Vinny Castilla, who also played for Houston. They had breakfast and got a tour of the office, which has lots of sports memorabilia, including a signed ball by Hank Aaron. Urquidy said Crane presented Obrador with an Astros jersey with his name on it. "We've got a good relationship," Urquidy said Friday. "A lot of people would like to meet him, and I got that opportunity to know him. And [Thursday] when they called me and said if I want to go, I said 'Yes, for sure.' We had a very good breakfast, very typical food from Mexico and everyone enjoyed the food. He was explaining to us some of the paintings he has in his office, what each one means. It was a very fun time." Urquidy, who's from Mazatlán, accompanied the Astros to Mexico even though he's been on the injured list all this season. Close friends and family members from his hometown are with him in Mexico City, in addition to his mother, wife and his mother-in-law and father-in-law. Despite not playing, being in uniform for the Mexico City Series is still important. "When I heard in the spring [the Astros were playing in Mexico], I was thinking, 'Man, I would like to be there,'" he said. "I wanted to pitch in front of my friends and my people, but not this time. I'm very mentally focused on my rehab right now. … That's my priority right now, being healthy and throwing the ball in games and trying to help the team to win." |
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Urquidy's chances of pitching in the Mexico City Series pretty much went out the door when he hurt his right forearm late in the spring and was shut down for a time. He's been rehabbing since, and on Tuesday, he threw in the bullpen in Houston. He said he threw about 30 pitches, with his fastball clocking between 88 and 91 mph. "I put a little bit of pressure on the arm, and it felt very good," he said. "It was a big step." Urquidy was supposed to throw another bullpen Friday, but the trip to the president's office trumped that. He played catch during the Astros' light workout at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú and will throw another bullpen Saturday, with the hopes of getting on the mound for live batting practice next week in Houston. As the only Mexican-born player on either roster, Urquidy's excitement about the Mexico City Series is evident. "We're happy, because we're here and playing in front of a lot of people from right here and they love baseball," he said. "They get a chance to see a big league game in real life. I've got some friends and they're going to enjoy those games and I'm very happy for that." |
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The Astros will have outfielder/infielder Trey Cabbage active for the two Mexico City Series games. Both teams can carry an extra player, but it must be a position player. Cabbage flew Thursday from Reno, where the Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys were playing, to meet the Astros in Chicago, then flew on the team charter to Mexico. The Astros have struggled to get production at first base this season from José Abreu and Jon Singleton, and Cabbage could get a chance to show what he can do there. Cabbage was slashing .271/.440/.486 with three homers and nine RBIs in 70 Triple-A at-bats. Houston acquired the left-handed-hitting Cabbage in a trade with the Angels in January and invited him to big league camp. In 36 Grapefruit League plate appearances, he had one home run and struck out 17 times. The Astros' .369 OPS from first base is by far the lowest in the Major Leagues from the position, so why not give Cabbage a shot? Neither Abreu nor Singleton have homered, leaving Houston as the only team without a homer from a first baseman this year. |
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Former Astros manager Dusty Baker, who led the club to the 2022 World Series title, was honored this week with Baseball Digest's fourth annual Lifetime Achievement Award. Baker is one of the most accomplished managers in MLB history, with a résumé that includes 2,183 wins in the regular season, which is the seventh most in Major League history. He won division titles with five teams and led teams to pennants in both leagues -- the Giants in the National League in 2002, and the Astros in the American League in 2021-22. "Receiving this award is a tremendous honor," the 74-year-old Baker said. "I never thought that I'd be in the class of the people that received this award. I know that my late mom and dad would be proud of me. This is really special." The award -- which began in 2021 and has had Willie Mays, Vin Scully and Joe Torre as its first three recipients -- is the game's only such lifetime honor presented annually on a national basis. It recognizes a living individual whose career has been spent in or around Major League Baseball and who has made significant contributions to the game. The selection was made by the independently submitted votes of a distinguished panel of 18 longtime MLB participants and observers. |
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