By Gary Is
January 20 2018

The Houston Astros have been invited to the White House to meet with President Donald Trump to be honoured for their success in the 2017 World Series.

The World Series win, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3, is their first in the franchise’s history and so is a major achievement for the Texas team. The Astros president of business operations, Reid Ryan, said the organisation accepted the invite without hesitation.

“As the representatives of baseball and the World Series champs, when the White House calls and invites you to come up, it’s something that as an organisation we felt both a responsibility and an obligation to be part of,” Ryan told the Houston Chronicle.

In general the American League teams fit the White House visit into the schedule when they are nearby playing the Baltimore Orioles but as the Astros are not scheduled to play the Orioles until October they might make the visit during spring training, Ryan said.

Winning teams regularly receive White House invitations and have done since the reign of Ronald Regan but recently things have been somewhat different. With President Trump being a hugely divisive character several sportsmen have declined the invitation to meet him.

The NBA champions Golden State Warriors had their invitation rescinded after Stephen Curry expressed his doubts about visiting Trump. NFL Super Bowl champions New England Patriots and NHL Stanley Cup champions Pittsburgh Penguins have been visited the White House although several players from both teams refused to attend.