
Pixabay.com
Jovan Abernathy is an international marathoner and owner of Houston Tourism Gym. To claim your free tour, contact her at info@tourismgymhtx.com. Follow her on Twitter @jovanabernathy. Instagram @TourismGymHtx. Facebook @TourismGymHtx
The beginning of the year is the time that everyone is more open to trying new experiences and doing the right thing. As the H-Town Run Tourist, I am always on the look out for these opportunities. Recently, I ran into one that you may want to add to your goal list. When I was researching for my article for Hermann Park, I learned that Hermann Park has many ways that you can volunteer. Which one will you try first?
If you have not been to Hermann Park recently, I suggest you take a stroll through the Japanese Gardens and the McGovern Centennial Gardens. Enjoy the beautiful foliage and take lots of pictures. Do you ever wonder how those gardens are kept up? By the wonderful volunteers that offer their helping hands to keep the park clean. Hermann Park needs you to assist the resident gardeners with weeding, trimming, planting, harvesting, trail maintenance, and dead-heading roses bushes. What a sneaky way to learn how to garden. Volunteer days are from 9am-12pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
Pixabay.com
Annual Kite Festival
On March 29 2020, people will flock to the hill at Miller Outdoor Theatre with the same goal in mind. Let's go fly a kite. During this outdoor event that is free for all ages, inner loopers, tourists, and people from all parts of Houston and surrounding areas bring their best looking kites. This event draws thousands of people. As you can tell, it needs your help to set up tents and tables for the vendors, help people find their way around the park. assist in the many activities, help people actually fly their kites, be a stage hand, and of course cleanup and breakdown.
Pixabay.com
Hermann Park Run
Every year, Hermann Park hosts the Park Run which is a 10K, 5K, and 1K Kid's Run throughout the park. This year's run will be held in October. Hermann Park needs you to help with setup, booths, and give directions to runners and their family and friends. There will be lots of new runners that need extra cheering and kids that need to see funny signs and be handed gummy bears.
Pixabay.com
Park to Port Bike Ride
Ride. Party. Ride. This annual 20 mile bike ride gives riders a unique view of Houston. It starts in the early morning from Bayou Parkland, goes along Brays Bayou Greenway Trail to the Port of Houston. Once there, its party-party with music snacks, and drinks before the ride back. This event is for all ages and skill levels. This event will be happening in November 2020. Hermann Park needs you to help setup the event, booths and hand out water and of course, cheer riders.
Don't be suprised if you see me there or hopefully, we can volunteer together this year. If you want to do your own shift or organize your own group, please contact the Program and Events Coordinator, Emily Chambers at EChambers@HermannPark.org. If you can not volunteer, I'm sure they accept yo' dolla dolla bills ya'll!
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Texans HC DeMeco Ryans reveals what he values most at scouting combine
Feb 28, 2025, 3:51 pm
Now that spring training is officially underway, we're able to make some observations about how the Astros 2025 roster is taking shape.
Houston's starting rotation is basically set, but we got to see Hayden Wesneski make his first start in an Astro uniform. Wesneski pitched two innings against the Mets on Tuesday, allowing one run with three strikeouts.
He's working on a curveball that's a new pitch for his repertoire, and he saw some success with it. Hopefully, adding this pitch will help keep batters off balance (especially left-handed hitters) and help elevate his game. Which is nothing new for the Astros, who have a history of helping pitchers get to the next level.
Forrest Whitley also looked good, pitching a clean inning and finishing off his final hitter with a 97 mph fastball. Whitley finally realizing his potential in the big leagues could be a huge deal for the Astros, as they're looking to lighten the workload for Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader this season.
Hader in particular could benefit from this adjustment, as he was much worse when pitching in non-save situations last season. An easy fix with Hader could be trying to limit his workload to mostly save situations. That way, you get the most out of him and achieve the goal of him pitching less innings this year.
The Houston Chronicle's Matt Kawahara wrote about Hader's struggles pitching when games were tied or Houston was trailing.
“Hader converted 34 of 38 save chances but faced more batters in non-save situations (142) than in save situations (136), a sharp pivot from his previous few seasons. Opponents slugged .271 against him in save situations and .411 in non-save situations, while his ERA was more than two runs higher (4.98) in the latter.”
And while it's easy to say “suck it up, you're getting paid a fortune to pitch,” if he's not having success in those situations, and you're looking to back off his workload, this seems like an obvious way to pivot. He's under contract for another four seasons, so the Astros are right to want to be careful with him.
Astros plate discipline
Manager Joe Espada has made it very clear that he would like his offense to see more pitches this season. And we're seeing a stark difference in the approaches from the newly acquired players (Isaac Paredes, Christian Walker) and Houston's returning hitters.
Keep in mind, Paredes was first in pitches per plate appearance last season, and Walker was 10th.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Paredes and Walker both worked a full count in their first at-bats on Tuesday, while Mauricio Dubon, Yainer Diaz, and Chas McCormick swung at every pitch in their first at-bats.
Hopefully the new blood in the clubhouse will rub off on the rest of the Astros lineup, which is full of free swingers, especially with Alex Bregman now playing for Boston.
Which is why we're so excited about Cam Smith's early results. While we're super pumped about his two home runs on Tuesday, we're equally impressed that he walked in his first two at-bats this spring. If anyone would naturally be jumping out of their shoes to make a strong first impression, you would think it's the guy that was traded for Kyle Tucker. But Smith was patient, and he was rewarded for it.
What is Dana Brown saying privately?
Just last offseason, Brown was talking about extending Tucker and Bregman while also signing Hader to a shocking 5-year, $95 million deal. Plus, the team signed Jose Altuve to a whopping $150 million extension. Fast-forward one year and Tucker has been traded, Bregman left in free agency, and Ryan Pressly was dealt in a salary dump. Safe to say, his vision for the ball club has changed drastically in one season. Welcome to baseball economics under Jim Crane!
We're just scratching the surface on everything covered in the video above. Be sure to hit play to watch the full conversation!
The countdown to Opening Day is on. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
*Looking to get the word out about your business, products, or services? Consider advertising on SportsMap! It's a great way to get in front of Houston sports fans. Click the link below for more information!