A REAL HOMER
Astros star surprises Houston waitress with huge tip in new YouTube video
Steven Devadanam
Nov 9, 2018, 11:19 am
Bregman wants to bring smiles to random Houstonians. Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
This article originally appeared on CultureMap.
Alex Bregman is nervous. His hands are sweaty.
The usually steely-eyed slugger isn’t staring down a pitcher in a pivotal matchup. Rather, the Astros star is sitting at The Moonshiners Southern Table & Bar, the popular downtown restaurant he frequents with his buddies.
As cameras document his every move for his blossoming YouTube channel, he’s about to make a crucial play: surprising a young waitress with a huge tip that will help her in her hour of need. “Alex called me and told me he and some buddies were coming in,” says Sam Aceituno-Zaldaña, general manager of Moonshiners. “Then he asked me if any of my waitstaff were single moms or struggling. He’s trying to randomly do good deeds for people and wants to help.”
Turns out that Moonshiners waitress Jordan Thompson fit the bill. The college student had just reported that her car was broken into; worse, her rent money was stolen from the vehicle. “She felt terrible and was even more embarrassed to lose that money,” recalls Aceituno-Zaldaña.
In the video that’s generating major buzz (well over 150,000 views in just 48 hours) and love for Bregman, he and his friends politely and casually chat with Thompson, make a sudden exit, and insist for the bill for their iced teas (she offers to comp them).
Continue reading on CultureMap.
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Apr 17, 2024, 4:51 pm
Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander will make his season debut Friday night at the Washington Nationals.
Houston manager Joe Espada made the announcement Wednesday.
“Getting him back is huge because it brings a level of confidence to our team, a boost of confidence that we’re going to get someone who’s been an MVP, a Cy Young (winner) on the mound,” Espada said. “It's (good) for the morale and to get stuff started and moving in the right direction.”
The three-time Cy Young Award winner opened the season on the injured list with inflammation in his right shoulder. He made two rehabilitation starts, the first for Triple-A Sugar Land on April 7 before Saturday’s start for Double-A Corpus Christi.
Espada wouldn't say how many pitches the 41-year-old would be limited to but said they'll keep an eye on his workload.
“We've got to be careful how hard we push him early,” Espada said. “I know he’s going to want to go and stay out there and give us an opportunity to win, but we've got to be cautious of how hard we push him early in the season.”
Verlander wasn’t thrilled with the results in his rehabilitation starts, but he said Monday that those games were valuable in getting him prepared to come off the IL.
He allowed seven hits and six runs — five earned — in four innings against Frisco on Saturday. He struck out three, walked one and threw 51 of 77 pitches for strikes.
Verlander allowed six earned runs and struck out six while pitching into the fourth inning for Sugar Land on April 7.
The Astros have gotten off to a tough start with Verlander and fellow starters Framber Valdez and José Urquidy on the injured list. They enter Wednesday's games last in the AL West with a 6-13 record.
Espada hopes Verlander can be the boost the team needs to get on track.
“It’s good to get him back in the rotation,” Espada said. “With what he means to this club just to get him back on track, getting some innings from him (to) build our rotation with the pieces that we need to move forward is exciting.”