Verlander skips Houston’s World Series victory celebration

Perhaps it wasn’t a surprise to readers of celebrity gossip magazines, but the Houston Astros’ star pitcher, Justin Verlander, skipped out of the city’s huge celebration Friday. Lots of fans posted their disapproval of his absence on social media. (Hollywood Life)

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Many fans took to Twitter to call him out on his absence, and some blamed the couple for not having a better wedding planner. The date is awfully close to when the World Series usually concludes, so you think the pair would have been a little more cautious and planned something farther back from the end of the MLB season. Especially if he really had dreams of winning a World Championship.

The Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers battled it out in a seven game slugfest, where Houston finally came out on top on Nov. 1. If Justin and Kate really are marrying this weekend, that’s a tight turnaround of just a few days between winning in Chavez Ravine and tying the knot in Tuscany.

The Houston Astros won the World Series for the first time in the franchise’s 55-year history. Given the horrendous year the city has experienced in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, the team’s victory is a much-needed morale boost. Most of all, the celebrations in Houston Friday were a way for the fans to show gratitude.

The parade downtown alone was a sight to behold. Up to 1 million people lined the parade route and any spot available with hopes of a view of the parade. Parking garages were filled with spectators leaning out for a glimpse of the team. A video went viral of a fan losing her hat and people on lower stories of the garage tossing it back up to her. After the parade, the team was recognized by federal, state and city officials as Governor Abbott declared November 3 as Houston Astros Day in Texas. During the speeches by the players, pitcher Dallas Keuchel used his phone to send greetings from the crowd to Verlander. His teammates, you see, didn’t mind that he wasn’t there with them.

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A fan favorite, Verlander signed with the Astros at the last minute in late August. His supermodel fiancée, Kate Upton, gave several interviews about the elaborate wedding plans for their destination wedding in Italy. The rub came once the Astros advanced to the World Series. The dates for the series were established and so were the wedding festivities in Italy. It can be argued that the conflict could have been avoided with a little better advance planning.

In the end, it’s a win all around, especially for Verlander. The man receives two rings to commemorate an exceptional weekend. He’s a World Series champ and a married man. Surely even the most irritated of the critics can cut the man some slack. He’s on his honeymoon with Kate Upton, after all. Houston is my adopted city and this Houstonian thanks all of the Astros for a well- deserved win. They did, indeed, #EarnHistory.

Karen Townsend is a guest author at Hot Air. You can read her other work at her Pondering Penguin blog. A longtime political blogger and activist, she enjoys writing about life and culture, too.

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