The Houston Astros have seen a few of their franchise icons leave over the last few seasons. From George Springer and Carlos Correa to Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman. While Correa is back with the Astros, Bregman, for the first time, showed up in Houston as a member of the competition.
It was an emotional return for the Astros and Bregman, and he shared a message on what he's looking forward to amid his return to Houston. Ian Browne of MLB.com shared Bregman's comments, which highlighted more than just his former teammates.
"Just seeing the guys, seeing the people who work at the stadium, seeing the fans and playing baseball," Bregman said. "And I look forward to going out there, competing with the guys and trying to get some wins."
Bregman was looking forward to playing in front of the fans and seeing the stadium personnel again. He received a warm welcome and a standing ovation before his first at-bat, which he promptly launched a home run over the left field wall.
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It was a fitting return for Bregman, who's hit many such home runs in his career. Bregman hit a home run against his former team, which he helped lead to two World Series titles. Only Duke Snider has hit such a home run, as Bregman continues to build up an incredible legacy in MLB history.
His emotional return to Houston resulted in a loss for the Red Sox, as the Astros took the first game of a big series in Houston. With Cristian Javier making his first start back with the Astros, a lot of the World Series team was back together in Houston on Monday.
With the Astros up 1-0 in the three-game series, Bregman and the Red Sox will look to even things up as Dustin May is on the mound for Boston, and Spencer Arrighetti takes the bump for Houston.
Bregman's return to Houston was an emotional one, and he made it memorable with his first at-bat home run to left field immediately after the Houston faithful gave the longtime Astros a standing ovation.
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