Houston Astros

I’m not a fan of any baseball team but this game might change me into an Astros’ fan.
We were invited by some friends to take in a game (vs. the Diamondbacks). Since I’ve never been to an Astros’ game and we were leading the division, I decided to join. Glad I did. It was a great experience at Minute Maid Park (see my review). The nachos were great, the roof was closed to save us from the 100+ Houston summer temperatures, the fans were pumped, and they WON! Also, Hank Conger allowed me to experience a grand slam at my first baseball game. He has gained another fan! :D
Overall, great experience. I’ll definitely look to come back again this season and hopefully the playoffs. Let’s go Astros!

So when I moved to Houston, the Astros were known as the LAstros, but that never stopped me to going to their games, honestly because I was there to watch the visiting teams, but when I attended my first ‘Stros game, I was impressed with the ballpark, and I didn’t mind coming back. I enjoy watching sporting events, and the venue makes it a great experience. Minute Maid Park is beautiful, seems like there’s no bad seat in the house, it’s also one of the updated parks in the league. On a hot, humid day in Houston, the retractable roof closed and the AC running is a lifesaver. While walking around you can smell all the yummy food, the food carts are my favorite.
So I went to my first game of this season last week, and this is the season the Astros are number in the division, they’re really good! Even though the baseball season is long and there are still many more games to play, there’s so much potential for this club! The up and coming Correa hit his first home run at home in the first inning when I went, and man did the park go crazy. Well it was also cool that in the first inning there was so much action for Astros. Hernandez from the Mariners was pitching and it was Astros up 8 – 0, so that was pretty awesome. I love how the train goes off when there’s a point! And yay the Astros not only won but the Mariners had 0 points, great night H-​town!
My favorite seats are near the bull pen and in the mezzanine. If you like action, seeing the pitchers warm up or even hope hope for a home run ball from a left handed hitter, the bull pen is a fun place to be around. Even though it may seem far from home plate, there’s just so much going on that you won’t get bored. The mezzanine or the second level is also nice to sit, not because of the view but for the indoor lounge area, an air conditioned area where you can walk around and hangout on couches.
I’ve been to baseball games where they’ve had fireworks, and on Friday nights here, there are also fireworks whether the Astros win or lose. The bull pen are bad seats see the fireworks, so try to move away from the train section so you can get the full affect. But awesome fireworks show, it feels like it keeps going and going and its up close.
I loved the whole experience! Baseball games are fun for all ages.
Oh and before I forget, I love the Astros new color scheme. The orange, blue and white is just beautiful!

The Astros are a staple of Houston’s sports scene, and an institution to the city in general. If you’re a sports fan, a Houstonian that isn’t a transplant, and you’re not an Astros fan, then shame on you.
Before the Texans rolled into town, and before the NFL was the juggernaut that it is today, the Houston Astros became Houston’s first major sports team to hit the Bayou City (this was even before the AFL merger for the Oilers). Baseball’s première league, the National League, expanded for the first time in over six decades, and Houston was lucky enough to have the leadership to make it happen here for the first time in Texas.
Before long, we had the Astrodome (no not the Oilerdome or some crazy corporate name), and Houston’s ball club was considered the most futuristic, progressive team in existence. It was a big deal for Houston’s national image.
These days, it helps to view the Astros for not only the importance they still hold for our city, but the importance they represent for our city’s history.

Watching games in the Minute Maid Park is soooo cool. Especially when it is super hot outside. A/​C, beer, and me, we are best friends in the summer.
Every time we went to Minute Maid Park, the Astros lost the games. No kidding you, they never win in front of us. But everyone was still so happy about every hit and every home run. The train will move if there is a home run.
We sang the song «Deep in the Heart of Texas» together. It is the most enjoyable moment for me during the game.

As our hometown baseball team fortunes appear on the rise, I will write to say that I hope Los Astros can find their way back to respectability soon!

Service and food preparation has improved 100% as the season continues! The staff is always friendly and helpful!

You gotta root, root for the home team, right? Even though it’s insanely hard to watch a team slowly suck the life out of you. Good news: the team seems to be better and it’s less embarrassing to be on the bandwagon. Even better news: the staff is super friendly, and willing to help you out with whatever you need (within reason). Also, one thing the Astros do right is tradition. They have all the baseball traditions out there, plus a few more (7^th inning stretch song: The stars at night are big and bright, *clap*clap*clap*, deep in the heart of Texas!)

I’ve been a Houston fan since I was 4. NO MORE! Staff rude and team could care less about fans.

This is a tough review for me. I’ve been a mini-​season ticket holder for 10 seasons (this will be 11). I love my Astros, I will ALWAYS go to the games, but have some candid thoughts on what they do right and what they need improvement on.
What they do right
1) Employee attitude — EVERY employee is friendly and genuinely welcomes you and thanks you for being there. I’ve been at games that went 14 innings and ended painfully, and there is a lady at the escalator thanking me for coming and wishing I’ll come back. Let alone that I know she was hoping to have gone home 2 hours ago. Amazing.
2) Seats — there isn’t a bad seat in the house, and it’s great to walk around and see all the angles of the ballpark. So many little things to see.
3) Family — they have great family deals (fireworks, kids free with parent, kids play area), they clearly get it when it comes to accommodating families.
4) Beer selection — They really do a great job of having a lot of beer selection in a lot of places. Especially because I sit in the upper deck, and they have the Little Bamboo stand with some craft beers.
5) Park Patrol — The Park Patrol keeps the fans entertained, has give aways, but otherwise does not interfere with enjoyment of the game.
6) Larry’s Big Bamboo and Lefty’s — really nice bars behind home plate and in left field respectively. TV’s to watch and great beer on tap.
7) Parking — Metered spots open up downtown at 6p an hour before the game. It’s easy to find a free spot if you’re willing to walk 5 or 6 blocks. 3 or 4 blocks gets to $ 10 pretty quickly, 1 – 2 blocks is $ 20.
What is okay, but not great
1) Beer and food prices — I know it has to be expensive, but still, it seems like there is room for improvement here. But it could be worse.
2) Fans — Okay, can’t blame the team here, but fans usually leave early and aren’t really that into it. Except for a good team, most seem to just be going through the motions. Who can blame them, with 3 straight 100 loss teams.
3) Ticket prices — Could be better. Frustrating that they went to dynamic pricing for big name teams. Frustrating that I pay a fixed price, then see others get cheaper prices walking around or through deals. Still a good value.
4) Food quality — there are some good finds, but seems like with new ownership, this has regressed. Less imaginative, more plain. Just an observation.
What needs improvement
1) Food and beer lines — They get long, and with sparse attendance, they shut down stands close to you. Or selection gets limited. I hear they are fixing this for 2014, but there needs to be variety of open stands no matter the crowd.
2) The team — We know it’s hard times and hopefully we’re turning a corner, but it’s hard to see the most familiar players traded away year after year.
3) Food cleanliness — There was the «sno cone gate» in 2013, and I read every year that the health department has their share of write ups for Minute Maid.
So more good than bad, this is still a great family place for a good price. In some ways, smaller crowds make it a better experience, although we all want the team to start winning!
I will update this as things change!

Hard to believe that this team has been around since 1888. Once a minor league team until 1961, they were called the Houston Buffaloes. Thanks to expansion, the National League brought Major League to Texas in 1962. Although life began as Colt .45’s, it wasn’t until around 1965 that they become Astros and the 8^th wonder of the world was created for them to play in. The closed in dome did not allow for grass to grow, and so this was were Astro Turf was born. I wonder if Houstonians appreciate the effort this took to get to today? Looking at the empty seats, I would guess not.
I live in Pittsburgh. And the once glorious Pirate’s have also been at the bottom in recent years. It’s amazing how quickly the fans vanish when the team is losing. And equally amazing how quickly they appear when the team is winning. I hope that the Astros are able to find their back way.
As for the game that I attended, it was great. They handily beat the Kansas Royals (so happy to see those obnoxious fans tuck tails and leave the game early) in a great win.

«Root, root, root for the home team, if they don’t win it’s a shame.»
So it’s been a shame every now and then this year (hah!), but the real shame is that my beloved Astros got sold to a cranky old man named Jim Crane. These may be the bad times, but you just can’t give up because the owner won’t let us watch the games, pay any players, or wear classy colors. I have grown up watching a wave of Killer B’s — Biggio, Bagwell, Bell, and Berry (later, Berkman) — and can’t wait til our team develops again. I very much appreciate 5’5″ Altuve standing tall at the head of our lineup this season.
Go ‘Stros.

Go Astros!

Don’t waste your time or money on this team… yet. The Houston Astros are not even trying to be competitive. They’re awful. Pathetic. Unwatchable. Literally. With so few people going to games, they’re always blacked out anyway. Good riddance.
Being one of only 6 teams that have ever lost 106 games in back to back seasons, the Houston Astros are now setting their goals even lower by trying to be only the 2^nd team to ever lose more than 106 games in back-​to-​back-​to-​back seasons. In fact, with an 11 – 31 record in mid May, the Lastros are on pace to lose an astonishing 120 games which would tie the all-​time record for losses in the American League. Just maybe, if they play like they’re capable of, I know they can break it.
I repeat. Don’t waste your time on this calculated dumpster fire. By not spending any money on talented players (lowest payroll in MLB by a wide margin), Astros management is guaranteeing, no, hoping, that the team will suck. With this suckiness comes high draft picks and the hope of viability in years to come, but, in the meantime, Houston fans are left to half-​heartedly follow a rotting pile of crap.
Let the new owner and GM trot out this embarrassment to a completely empty stadium. They’re not really that concerned with winning for a while anyway.
No stars. Not good for kids, groups, or the general viewing public.

Astros: A large business designed to place money in the pockets of its owners. Incidental sporting activity. Have traded their best players away to cut costs. Now the rumors are on whether they have anyone good enough to trade. Deserve to lose fans until the new owner realizes he has to invest in the team to drive income.
Swerve.

Really good experience with this organization. They will be a 5 star tour once you are allowed to visit the locker rooms. Very informative and fun.

I’m slowly becoming a baseball girl, especially after my first season of kickball!
We came to Astros v. Giants on a Friday night.
We won! Pretty great game
Afterwards?
Um, just about the coolest fireworks show! Friends and I kept talking about how much more awesome this was than more July 4^th ones!

Frustrating team to root for lately, but I’ll always be a fan. Was pretty hard to lose in the World Series in 2005 and when we almost got there the year before (that was an epic comeback).
But I’ll always remember Biggio, Bagwell and everyone who filled my childhood memories. Went to games when I was still in a diaper, and have traveled as far as Pittsburgh to watch them play.
We’ll contend again one day. Go Astros!
For the record, I HATE the Cardinals. That is all.

Forget «Houston Astros» and say hello to the old mocking nickname of «Houston Lastros» since we are firmly in the bottom of the standings. In a Bizarro world of baseball, we’re #1. We’ve won the World Series of Worst — here’s how we did it.
1. Firmly in the bottom of our Central Division.
2. Firmly in the bottom of our league: the National League.
3. Firmly in the bottom of both leagues of Major League Baseball.
Sure, we’re roughly halfway through the regular season but there’s no real reason to throw good hope after realistic despair in this season. Even the change of ownership from Drayton McLane to Jim Crane has turned up a snoozefest of excitement. Actually, putting any energy into hoping is a waste of time I could spend organizing my sock drawer or cleaning out my dryer lint filter.
Yet, attending a recent game (1 July against the Boston Red Sox: We lost. Surprised?) turned up a surprisingly 70% full Minute Maid Park. I guess we’re all gluttons for punishment. Luckily, modern Minute Maid Park is air-​conditioned and can amuse fans during even low-​energy games like that Friday’s game. And, the promise of Friday night fireworks (sponsored by Marathon Oil) afterward kept many fans in the stands.
Let’s try again next year, Houston Lastros. I’ll come back for maybe one more game — but it will be for the promotional giveaways. I’ve got my eye on an umbrella in August but that may not be as useful during our current drought conditions. At least, I can use it for my cover of Rihanna’s «Umbrella» dance tune — word on the street is that my version is fierce.

Went to today’s game against the Red Socks, we are a sad bunch of players on our beloved Houston team. But we do have defense!
I don’t know if that is anywhere near of a baseball term… but yeah. Our batting needs improvement though.
At least the Astros team brings one more thing of City Spirit to Houston

Nolan Ryan… we miss you. And the great orange and blue uniform we had back in the day were the best.
But at least we have Bagwell and Biggio… Wait, we lost Jeff in 2005, Craig in 2007. So now the Astros are not much to look at, and the uniform design continues to go down hill.
At least we took the pendent, thats right in 2005 our Houston Astros were the National League Champs!
Sadly Houston is not good at keeping up with sports teams and most people have forgotten about that championship… just like no one remembers the 1986 season either.
I hear there is a new stadium that I haven’t made my way over too yet (Enron Field… I mean Minute Maid Park), … but what was wrong with the Astrodome?