Astros star under fire for what he did behind Trump's back during WH visit
The World Series champion Houston Astros were honored Monday by President Donald Trump during a visit to the White House.
In recent years, some athletes perceive being honored for the ultimate victory in their sport by the leader of the nation as an obligation to approve or disapprove of the politics of the sitting president of that time.
So in that context, the Astros deserve some credit for agreeing to visit the White House in the first place. The trip required the team to leave its spring training facility in West Palm Beach, Florida, early in the morning, arrive at the White House around noon and return to South Florida by evening.
“If you’re going to spend an off day doing something other than relaxing, I think the White House is a pretty good gig,” pitcher Dallas Keuchel said.
Almost all of the Astros who were part of the World Series team made the trip to the White House, but one of them who was there didn’t look too thrilled about it.
Infielder and reigning American League MVP Jose Altuve stood just behind the president during Trump’s remarks on Monday, but you wouldn’t know by the look on his face that he was being honored.
For most of the president’s speech, Altuve stood with his hands in his pockets, practically scowling at Trump.
https://twitter.com/Starting9/status/973263927739117568
At one point, Trump made mention of “the amazing José Altuve,” then turned to shake the diminutive infielder’s hand. After patting Altuve on the shoulder, Trump joked, “Much taller than I thought.”
Altuve also stood out by not clapping with his teammates when Astros manager A.J. Hinch stated that they were honored to be there.
His actions drew the ire of some on social media.
He needs to show our president respect. Who the hell does he think he is?
— NY Pete in Fla 🇺🇸 (@Mets19Pete) March 12, 2018
At the end of his speech, Trump turned to shake the hands of various members of the Astros. When Altuve and the president didn’t shake hands, some on social media declared that Altuve had snubbed Trump, or Trump had snubbed Altuve. But the two did in fact shake hands during the event.
https://twitter.com/HoustonFanPVP/status/973266965782515713
A longtime Yankees fan, Trump told the Astros that as good as his favorite team was last season, “You guys were a little bit better.”
The Astros defeated the Yankees in the American League Championship Series on their way to the World Series.
Hinch used his remarks to celebrate the team’s diversity.
“When you look at our team, we come from everywhere, we’ve got some big guys, some small guys. … It’s a very, very unique group, similar to our country,” Hinch said. “I want the people around the country to fall in love with the Astros as much as our city did, and that’s because of the makeup of our team.”
The Astros’ media relations department said two players who did not attend the celebration — Carlos Correa and Ken Giles — each had “a family obligation” that prevented them from making the trip.
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