At around 10:37 CT on Wednesday November 1, Corey Seager rolled over on a grounder to second base, leading to the Houston Astros first World Series championship in team history.
Here’s that final out:
The final out! #EarnedHistory pic.twitter.com/Cxah8btuWP
— Houston Astros (@astros) November 2, 2017
And although this meant a lot to a team that had never won a World Series before …
Including Carlos Correa, who took the opportunity to propose just moments after it all finally happened:
Carlos Correa Won the World Series and Immediately Proposed to His Girlfriend on the Field! https://t.co/5iUHGnDi8F pic.twitter.com/I5nOKMPe6b
— Baseball is Fun (@flippingbats) November 2, 2017
Or Justin Verlander, the living legend who finally got his first World Series ring:
JV will get his ring! #EarnedHistory pic.twitter.com/YBIV2bqJOW
— Houston Astros (@astros) November 2, 2017
… It meant even more to Houston-natives, who are just barely two months removed from the devastation of Hurricane Harvey.
Please Support @Advisoralise Hurricane Harvey Disaster Relief AliseHealingCenter Donate Here – https://t.co/1I0VTsNb3K pic.twitter.com/tMTGBsYBCD
— Viral Exposure NOW! (@xzyfunder) October 24, 2017
$25M in Emergency Funds Given to Texas in Wake of Hurricane Harveyhttps://t.co/Gdf04CTG4C pic.twitter.com/uUDmUSLsR5
— Patricia A. Moor (@PatriciaMoor1) October 24, 2017
For them, this championship wasn’t just a distraction from the recent destruction and disaster, it was a bright spot, a celebration, a reason for happiness and unity.
And all of it at just the right time.
“It’s not so much lifting Houston up — it sends you in a different direction for a while,” said Rabbi Amy Weiss to the New York Times. “You can climb into the game, into the television, and you’re not thinking about your flooded house.”
Another Houston-native, Waylon Doucett, described jumping and dancing on his porch with friends and neighbors late Wednesday night, and the role the Astros, themselves, played in that happiness.
“You can see it in their eyes,” Doucett said of the Astros players to the New York Times. “They know the devastation. They know what we’re going through down here. Of all times, what better time to win the World Series than right now.”
The stories of joy and togetherness following the World Series win on Wednesday are almost too many to share, but each is worth your time and attention.
You can read more at the New York times, and see pictures of families watching the World Series in internally-gutted living rooms (like this one) around Houston right here.
World Series offers escape for Harvey victims watching from home https://t.co/MzRckj35Us pic.twitter.com/cCtN68YNnu
— WLKY (@WLKY) November 2, 2017