A squabble between major-league baseball teams and their fans has surfaced during devastating flooding in Texas and former Woodward Academy star Delino DeShields Jr. wants it to stop.
A three-game series scheduled this week between the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers in Houston was moved due to the catastrophic effects of Hurricane Harvey. But the games were moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, instead of Arlington, Texas, the home of the Rangers.
Astros president Reid Ryan asserts that his team approached the Rangers about simply swapping sites for this series with one in September. The Rangers declined that proposal but were willing to take the home series from Houston but not give one back in return. Texas general manager Jon Daniels said it would not be fair to his fans who’ve already bought tickets to the September series.
The Rangers’ position has resulted in major backlash, including an on-line petition that says the team is selfish and does not deserve to wear the Texas state flag on its uniform anymore.
DeShields, who plays for the Rangers, is exasperated with the squabbling. He took to his Instagram and Twitter accounts to express his frustrations. His long, emotional post included: "I'm really frustrated how people have been acting over the past 24 hours. … I want people to understand that what is happening down there is way bigger than baseball… This is about people in Texas and from all over the country coming together and helping the ones who are and have been affected by this natural disaster."
The Rangers routed the Astros 12-2 Tuesday night in the first game of the series in Florida.
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