Gertrude Greenfield, Brent Strom's mother-in-law, threw the Astros' first pitch on her 101st birthday
Astros pitching coach Brent Strom honored his mother-in-law, Gertrude Greenfield, on her 101st birthday by having her throw out the first pitch before Wednesday's Yankees-Astros game at Minute Maid Park. With Strom and his wife, Carrie, nearby, Gertrude tossed the baseball to her favorite player,
Gertrude Greenfield, #Astros pitching coach Brent Strom's mother-in-law, celebrating her 101st birthday today, throws out the ceremonial first pitch. Her catcher is @JoseAltuve27, her favorite player pic.twitter.com/Ywee0RAS5z
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) April 10, 2019
Greenfield also got to have a lovely little conversation with the former MVP.
Astros pitching coach Brent Strom’s 101-year old mother-in-law, Gertrude Greenfield, celebrated her birthday by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch to Jose Altuve. Their meeting was very sweet. pic.twitter.com/Y05ud8wqog
— Alyson Footer (@alysonfooter) April 10, 2019
It was a thrilling moment for the Stroms too, who live with Greenfield at their home in Tucson, Ariz.
“She’s a special lady,” said Strom. “She lives and dies with the Astros every night. She thinks we should win every game. She gets mad at me when we don’t. It’s great (to have here). It’s a monumental time for her.
"One hundred and one. It’s quite amazing.”
As Greenfield prepared for the ceremony, she admitted to having a few butterflies. “I am scared to death,” she said. “I don’t know if it’ll be a curveball or straight ball or what, but I’ve been praying for two days.”
Sports have always been an important part of Greenfield's life. Her husband, Tom, played center for the Green Bay Packers from 1939-1941, and she remains a Packers fan as well as an Astros fan.
Maybe catching Greenfield's first pitch led to some good luck for Altuve -- he homered in his first bat of the game against
Another game, another @JoseAltuve27 HR! #TakeItBack pic.twitter.com/B89KGufxp3
— Houston Astros (@astros) April 11, 2019
... and then did it again to lead off the fifth.
Go ahead and watch all of this one! 😏#TakeItBack pic.twitter.com/7hyKwWwj6L
— Houston Astros (@astros) April 11, 2019
We have no doubt that the birthday girl was delighted.
