Houston Astros’ Jose Altuve, center, and his teammates celebrate during a rally honoring the World Series baseball champions Friday, Nov. 3, 2017, in Houston. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

By Amaury Pi Gonzalez

Houston celebrated their first World Series title with a huge parade in downtown Houston. The Mayor of Houston, the Governor of Texas, Senators from Texas, the owner of the team Jim Crane (who bought the team in 2011), and Astros players all took to the microphone to speak to a delighted crowd. The celebration continued today as George Springer, Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve will represent the Astros in a parade at Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida.

This World Series was all about baseball, the people, and nothing more. Specially after that incredible game 5. Millions went to Facebook, Twitter, texting, calling their friends. The talk was about baseball, and what a great World Series. Baseball has that ability, to take you away from all the other ills and make you focus on this great game. What a noble idea, an event that for a few hours make you escape from all the hardships.

Unlike other sports, baseball begins and culminates in the same year, giving the title to one team that played approximately 170 or more games (April to October) and then into November, to claim the trophy. And, of course, there is nothing like game 7 in a World Series.

Baseball literally alleviates the tragedy of many, specially this year. MLB sponsors collected millions of dollars for those suffering from the hurricanes in Houston and Puerto Rico. Players set the example, giving themselves, money out of their pockets. In the case of Astros Carlos Beltran, a native of Puerto Rico, he gave $1 million out of his own pocket. I would said that is very good social activism.

Major League Baseball is still an affordable experience for the family. Kids with families populate the parks, much more than any other sport. Baseball is called a game, and we all can remember playing catch with our dad, our brothers, our friends. You attend a baseball game, you are a participant, you can take home a ball that was actually used during the game. What other sport can you do that?

This World Series and baseball is the ultimate conversation sport. It is engraved in our history, it enables us to start a conversation because a special, specific or great play, it makes you think. You can be 12 years old and argue a play with the manager. It is the most democratic of all sports. When your son or daughter comes home with an A he/she got from Algebra you say :”you hit a home run”. Baseball is part of who we are, you have a game every day during the season. You have a bad one…and you can come back the next day and be king. No need to wait for seven days to see what you are going to do after that terrible defeat.

I know the game is going under some changes. I truly hope they do not change it much more, because it is a beautiful game that help us with something that is not common these days – patience.

This 2017 World Series had all these qualities, entertainment, uniting people, helping people in need, enjoying the ups and downs of a very exciting series. Before it began I wrote here that I picked the Dodgers because among these two very well matched teams, the Dodgers had a better bullpen. It didn’t happened but at the end the Houston Astros are well deserved champions. They played as a unit all year. These players like each other and they enjoy the game. They have the dedication and passion, specially Altuve, Correa and Springer, there is nothing any of those three guys cannot do on a baseball field.

With all respect to those that invest heavily in “analytics”, I think it is overrated. I wonder what would Einstein think about analytics, after all he had a 160 IQ.

“You teach me baseball and I’ll teach you relativity…No we must not. You will learn about relativity faster than I learn baseball”. -Albert Einstein.

One more thing, at the time of this article, there is approximately 100+ days until Spring Training.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the TV Spanish talent for the Angels, the Radio Spanish talent for the A’s and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com