Baseball players are notoriously superstitious. And whether Christian Walker would identify himself as such, he's definitely at least a little sititious.
Walker is enjoying a resurgent season with the Astros, posting a .791 OPS and 20 home runs heading into Houston’s final series before the All-Star break. As good as those numbers may be, they pale in comparison to teammate Yordan Alvarez, who could very well be on track for his first AL MVP award by season’s end.
So why wouldn’t Walker try to get in on some Alvarez magic?
As the Astros celebrated Alvarez for his second home run last Saturday -- an epic walk-off to defeat the Rays -- Walker slinked away. He picked Alvarez’s bat off the ground and rubbed it all over his uniform, as if it was a lamp that contained a genie ready to grant him a wish for more hits.
Sure enough, Walker went deep on Sunday in the fourth inning of a 2-0 win over the Rays, continuing an excellent stretch as they work to overcome a difficult start to the season. But Walker wasn’t done there.
The first baseman has recorded a hit in every game since the act, including a two-hit performance on Monday and a double in two of three games. Walker had been in somewhat of a mini slump before his breakout on Sunday, with just one hit in his previous four games to go along with six strikeouts.
Walker will try to keep this newfound streak going when the Astros begin a three-game set at the Rangers on Friday.
The 35-year-old Walker burst out of the gates in 2026, hitting seven homers with a .918 OPS through the end of April. May and June were not as kind, but perhaps he can get back to his old self, with just a little help from his superstar teammate and some superstition.