Astros' Bracamonte in giving mood after loss
Bullpen catcher shares gear, balls with KC fans following Game 5 of ALDS
The Astros' season may have ended on a disappointing note Wednesday night, but Houston bullpen catcher Javier Bracamonte made several Royals fans even more happy than usual following Kansas City's win in Game 5 of the American League Division Series.
Bracamonte, according to a Facebook post, emptied his bag and threw all his gear to child fans sitting near the Astros' bullpen. Among the items he gave to fans were his hat, batting gloves, chest protector, shin guards and about 25 baseballs.
"It was overwhelming to me," Bracamonte said. "I did it in Houston before, too. I gave my catching gear away after the last game of the season two years ago in the bullpen. There was a kid and a family that were there and I said, 'I've got a bunch of stuff in my bag' and I gave it to them.
"I think the people weren't watching the celebration. They're watching what I was giving to the kids and everything. They were in shock I was doing that."
Facebook user David Dahmer posted several pictures of Bracamonte and had this to say about the bullpen catcher:
"Last night Javier Brackamonte #85, a Houston Astros bullpen catcher showed an unbelievable act of class and sportsmanship. After the game was over, he dug in his giant bag of gear and basically emptied it throwing stuff to all the kids. He threw them his hat, batting gloves, his chest protector, his chin guards, tootsie pops and every baseball he could find which was about 25 balls.. When he was done he threw his bag over his shoulder, clapped for all of us and wished us good luck the rest of the way. It was so cool to see someone showing kids how it's supposed to be done. I was sitting there just shocked. After getting heckled all night he showed us what he is all about.. What a great guy. I'll definitely be rooting for him from now on."
Bracamonte, 45, just completed his 15th season as Houston's bullpen catcher.
"The guy took a picture of it and put it on Facebook and it's been an overwhelming the last three days," he said. "So many messages, so much stuff on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, people calling."