The Houston Astros were not supposed to be this good this fast. Between 2011-2013, they won 162 games … total! They’ve undergone a makeover that has them at 76-64 this season which is two and a half games better than the Texas Rangers. Now, it would be prudent to credit the progression of superstar Jose Altuve, the starting pitching of Dallas Keuchel and Colin McHugh, shrewd moves that acquired the likes of Scott Kazmir, Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers, and supreme young talent coming up through the system such as Carlos Correa and George Springer.
But it’s much more fun to credit their strange habit of eating gummy bears after home runs:
This was during Wednesday’s game against Oakland. Each home run hitter received a handful of gummy bears … hand fed … upon returning to the dugout. With the Rangers charging hard at that division lead, any sort of celebration/superstition helps. So why not choose one that rewards you with a delicious blast of candied goodness? And it isn’t hard candy so none of that young talent is going to miss a game or go on the disabled list with emergency root canal surgery. Or worse … popcorn which could break your tooth with one of those unpopped kernels. So the Astros are not only progressive in how they build a team, but they put a lot of thought into their celebratory candy and how it can keep them healthy.
Photo of Evan Gattis pre-gummy bears courtesy of Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
