Gertrude Greenfield, Brent Strom's mother-in-law, threw the Astros' first pitch on her 101st birthday
Astros pitching coach Brent Strom honored his mother-in-law, Gertrude Greenfield, on her 101st birthday by having her throw out the first pitch before Wednesday's Yankees-Astros game at Minute Maid Park. With Strom and his wife, Carrie, nearby, Gertrude tossed the baseball to her favorite player,
Gertrude Greenfield, #Astros pitching coach Brent Strom's mother-in-law, celebrating her 101st birthday today, throws out the ceremonial first pitch. Her catcher is @JoseAltuve27, her favorite player pic.twitter.com/Ywee0RAS5z
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) April 10, 2019
Greenfield also got to have a lovely little conversation with the former MVP.
Astros pitching coach Brent Strom¡¯s 101-year old mother-in-law, Gertrude Greenfield, celebrated her birthday by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch to Jose Altuve. Their meeting was very sweet. pic.twitter.com/Y05ud8wqog
— Alyson Footer (@alysonfooter) April 10, 2019
It was a thrilling moment for the Stroms too, who live with Greenfield at their home in Tucson, Ariz.
¡°She¡¯s a special lady,¡± said Strom. ¡°She lives and dies with the Astros every night. She thinks we should win every game. She gets mad at me when we don¡¯t. It¡¯s great (to have here). It¡¯s a monumental time for her.
"One hundred and one. It¡¯s quite amazing.¡±
As Greenfield prepared for the ceremony, she admitted to having a few butterflies. ¡°I am scared to death,¡± she said. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯ll be a curveball or straight ball or what, but I¡¯ve been praying for two days.¡±
Sports have always been an important part of Greenfield's life. Her husband, Tom, played center for the Green Bay Packers from 1939-1941, and she remains a Packers fan as well as an Astros fan.
Maybe catching Greenfield's first pitch led to some good luck for Altuve -- he homered in his first bat of the game against
Another game, another @JoseAltuve27 HR! #TakeItBack pic.twitter.com/B89KGufxp3
— Houston Astros (@astros) April 11, 2019
... and then did it again to lead off the fifth.
Go ahead and watch all of this one! ?#TakeItBack pic.twitter.com/7hyKwWwj6L
— Houston Astros (@astros) April 11, 2019
We have no doubt that the birthday girl was delighted.
