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DP resident has best seat It was a historic year in the Houston area. Soon after the
Gulf Coast experienced a record-setting hurricane and
for historic Astros season flood, the Houston Astros lifted spirits across the Bay-
ou City when they won their first world championship.
One Deer Park resident not only had the best seat in base-
Written by J. Stokes, InsideDP.com ball to witness history and its subsequent celebration.
around town
While everyone in the Houston area enjoyed the Then came the Los Angeles Dodgers in a legendary
Astros historic run to a World Series Championship seven- game World Series. Houston hosted Games 3,
this fall, one Deer Park resident witnessed the home 4, and 5. “I loved walking into Minute Maid Park for
games – every pitch, every out, every win – from Game 3 and seeing the World Series logo on the field
the best seat in the house. Bobby Vasquez, know to – it’s what you’re there for. Everything that we played
Astros fans as “Bobby Dynamite,” drives the train at for and the heart and soul our fans put in, we were
Minute Maid Park, a position he has held since 2001. going to see them pay off in front of our eyes.”
Vasquez is a Deer Park resident and graduated from Through the Astros media department, Vasquez, con-
Deer Park High School in 1996. He joined the Astros ducted so many media interviews he lost count. Most
in 2000. of those took place on the train. “Everything was fun,
but a total blur,” he said. Game 5 of the series, which
Save a handful of extenuating circumstances, Vasquez ended after 10 innings in a 13-12 Astros win, may be
has driven the train at every Astros game over the remembered as the Astros greatest game ever played
past 17 years, with previous highlights such as the in Houston. In the bottom of the seventh George
NLCS in 2004 and the World Series in 2005, and low- Springer launched a 382 foot home run to deep left
lights including those 100-loss seasons of 2011-2013. field, which landed on the train tracks. Vasquez
However, no season will be as memorable as 2017. retrieved the ball and made sure it was returned to
Springer after the game – an act greatly appreciated
The road to their first World Championship included by Springer and his family. Game 5 ended with a sin-
consecutive series against the Boston Red Sox, New gle from third baseman Alex Bregman which scored
York Yankees, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Vasquez right fielder Derek Fisher. This prompted yet another
has favorite moments of each. Against the Red Sox, auditory assessment from Vazquez, “That was the
“The last out of the series was the most exciting part.” loudest I’ve ever heard it in Minute Maid.”
Astros fans may recall the last out of the series took
place in Game 4, in Boston. While Game 7 took place in Los Angeles, over 20,000
fans watched it live in Minute Maid, with Vasquez
Next came the vaunted New York Yankees, in the driving the train for the Astros faithful. “I’ve never felt
exciting and competitive ALCS where the home that much energy before walking into the ballpark,”
team won every game. “The crowd was exciting and said Vasquez, “the fans were excited with every single
got louder and louder each inning in Game 2,” said pitch.” When the game ended and the Astros had
Vasquez. secured their first world championship, the smaller
The loudest he had ever heard the stadium followed
Game 2’s final at bat, when Astros shortstop Carlos
Correa doubled, scoring second baseman Jose Altuve
on a sprint from first base. Admittedly, Vasquez’s new Bobby Vasquez has seen virutally every pitch
unofficial high decibel count record was short lived. thrown at Minute Maid Park for the last 17 years.
“When (Astros outfielder George) Springer caught This year, Vasquez, a Deer Park resident, had the
best seat in the house to witness the Astros’ his-
the final out in Game 7, the crowd exploded. It was toric run to a World Series title. Photo provided by
the loudest I’ve ever heard the ball park.” Deer Park Photos.
18 Deer Park Chamber of Commerce
