Good day, I hope this finds everyone well. First off, I want to apologize for this rather lengthy blog entry, but considering the event and the journey and the time invested all October, I hope it proves entertaining and insightful. Having said that, this entry is so long that I will be splitting it into three parts, with part two coming out on November 9 and the third entry coming on November 12.

October 2019 was one of the most stressful and visceral yet fulfilling months in my career, and it was mainly due to the Houston Astros in the Major League Baseball postseason. Going into the regular season, the Astros’ stated goal was to reach the World Series and reclaim the title of World Champions, a title the franchise won two years ago. And after a regular season which saw the team set all sorts of records in offensive prowess and dominant pitching, confidence and excitement was building as the month of October began. As far as myself, I was looking forward to covering the playoffs again with a sense of tempered optimism. I was hopeful that the Astros could make a deep run or a title run, while also recognizing that its playoff baseball and playoff baseball can be VERY unpredictable because every single pitch, at-bat and decision matters greatly. Nonetheless, I was ready for the challenge at hand, especially since I wouldn’t be covering any playoff game from my normal shooting position in the on-field photo wells. Rather, I would be covering the playoffs from various elevated positions, shooting the action downwards. Fortunately, I didn’t have to worry about editing photos during the game as the team had remote (and later, on-site) editors taking care of our photos. (I do apologize, myself and two other Houston photographers were tasked to cover the games for USA Today Sports.)

October 4th saw the beginning of the American League Divisional Series, the first round of the Major League Baseball Postseason. By virtue of having the best record in the American League, Houston hosted the wild-card game winners, the Tampa Bay Rays in a best-of-five series. In front of a packed and LOUD house, the Astros dominated the game almost from start to finish. Behind a strong pitching performance by Justin Verlander and key hitting by Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman, Houston won the opener, 6-2. It was a fast start to the postseason for Houston, and I got some viable shots from the game, which was VERY surprising as I was dealing with the onset of a very bad head cold/sinus infection.  Houston held serve at home in the first two games but the series turned when it moved to Tampa for Games 3 and 4 as the Rays struck back and struck often, winning both times in Florida. The stage was set for a decisive Game 5 on October 10^th as Houston needed a win to take the series and advance. The Astros jumped on the Rays in the first inning, scoring four runs, and rode the dominant arm of starting pitcher Gerrit Cole to win the game, 6-1, winning the series three games to two to advance to the next round of the playoffs.