I thought the same thing. Probably would've been in better taste, at least imo, if he got called into the office and had the family in there waiting for him.
There are no other guys that haven't been called up before. Dezenzo got called up last season and all the other guys are vets.
We can just agree to disagree, that's fine. I'll tell you, though, that I don't think Chas or Jake has much leash this season. I think both have a good chance of being off the roster by July if they don't perform. Jake's hot start got him the majority of ABs last season, where if his July / August / Sept / Oct cold stretch happened at the beginning of the season, he would have been relegated to backup duty and might never have gotten the chance to bring his numbers up to JaCoby Jones levels.
What number will he be? Will likely be the best selling jersey once released. (mainly because everybody already has an Altuve jersey).
FWIW I was told by someone that would know that this rubbed some of the players the wrong way. They didn’t like that Espada singled out Smith making the club - and believe it’s special treatment. Smith hasn’t said or done anything wrong with his teammates but a Singleton was a prominent voice and figure in the locker room. Ultimately it won’t matter if Smith hits - but is an example of Espada not completely getting baseball code.
This is a new era in Astros baseball. We need some new leaders on the team. Hopefully someone like pena picks up the ball.