I got legendary 35 HR Ensberg's autograph as the same day as this minor leaguer named Alex Bregman... hope he turns out OK... so far, he looks alright.
We can check one of those off of Bregman's to-do list. Another one of the Stros great "might have been's" is Ensberg landing wrong diving for that foul ball.
Alex Bregman really is at a MVP pace, he evolved so much as a hitter the last 2 months. Nothing is stopping him.
He was quite the late bloomer, becoming a full time regular at age 26. Chances are, 2003-2006 was going to be his prime/best years of his career... regardless of when he started and whatever happened with that foul ball. In comparison, Bregman won't be having the corresponding time-frame of prime years till 2021-2024!
I ran into Ensberg at a Starbucks in Irving, TX back in 2006. The Astros were in town to play the Rangers. I was so homesick for Houston and this was fresh off the 05 World Series, I was delighted to see him. We chatted in line for a little bit, he paid for his coffee with hundred dollar bill and poured in about four Sweet n Lows, then took off in a cab. #CoolStoryBro
His double today was XBH #50 on the year. Here's the list of other players in the majors with 50 XBH: JD Martinez Jose Ramirez Francisco Lindor Ozzie Albies Eduardo Escobar
On a side note, Morgan Ensberg's Baseball IQ blog has some interesting content on it if you haven't checked it out in the past. It hasn't been updated in forever, and is really hard to navigate, but has some cool takes on the unwritten rules of baseball, as well as stories about the other players.
