It probably sounded like a fun idea for fans of the Fresno Grizzlies, the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. The Astros were deemed 2017’s World Series champions by Sports Illustrated last June, touting the young talent that the organization had stockpiled and developed. With potential stars like George Springer, Jon Singleton, Collin McHugh, Mark Appel and Carlos Correa, such a projection didn’t seem terribly outlandish.
So the Grizzlies decided to run with that prediction and have some fun with it. On Tuesday, the team announced an Aug. 15 “Back to the Future” promotion celebrating the Astros’ 2017 World Series title and planned to give out championship rings to fans.
Well… not so fast. With some more time to think over the matter, it apparently occurred to someone (or many) in the Astros organization that celebrating a championship supposedly won two years from now was, at the very least, presumptuous. More superstitious sorts might suggest it would cast a jinx on the major league team.
Such a promotion could place unfair expectations on the Astros over the next two years. Hey, these guys are guaranteeing they’ll win the World Series! And if the team didn’t win in 2017, it could be kind of embarrassing. So cooler heads prevailed, and the Grizzlies canceled the promotion on Wednesday. (The @MiLB tweet announcing it has since been deleted.)
“We met internally and have decided to replace the 2017 Houston Astros World Championship Ring with a more Fresno-centric giveaway, which more aligns with our marketing plans for 2015 and beyond,” said Derek Franks, the Grizzlies General Manager. “We do not want a Fresno Grizzlies giveaway to be perceived as a jinx for our Major League affiliate.”
Slow your roll there, minor leaguers. It’s kind of a buzzkill because the whole endeavor was surely meant in good fun. But it probably wasn’t the best idea for the Astros to have its Triple-A affiliate essentially call its shot for the big league club. Maybe the Grizzlies can revisit the promotion if the Astros actually do follow through on their promise two years from now.
