This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart's Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
HOUSTON ¨C The pitch was a perfect strike, and nobody would have cared if it wasn¡¯t. Nine-year-old Viviana Espada¡¯s ceremonial first pitch to her father, Astros manager Joe Espada, prior to Tuesday¡¯s game against the Giants at Daikin Park was a thing of beauty, and not only because it was directly over the plate.
Viviana, the youngest daughter of Joe and Pamela Espada, was diagnosed with autism in 2017 and has made remarkable strides in the last few years with the help of her family, her school and her community. Tuesday marked the second year in a row Viviana has thrown out the ceremonial first pitch on Autism Awareness Night.
¡°The first thing she said [Tuesday] morning is ¡®Daddy, we get to do it again today,¡¯¡± Joe said. ¡°I said, ¡®Yes,¡¯ but I also reminded of her what it means. It¡¯s more than just throwing out the first pitch. It¡¯s awareness. At her school, when I go and visit, kids who struggle with some of the learning challenges, I always remind her how important it is for us to come together as a community to help families and teachers who spent a lot of time with them. She had therapy today and I¡¯m always grateful for the people she has around her to help her throughout a lot of challenges that she has overcome.¡±
The Astros set up a sensory room at the ballpark on Tuesday and removed the home run fireworks and other lighting effects that could be uncomfortable for those with autism. They also lowered the volume of the public address system. In 2020, the CDC reported that approximately 1 in 54 children in the U.S. is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, and boys are four times more likely to be diagnosed with autism than girls. April is autism awareness month.
The Espadas noticed some behavioral differences from other kids in their youngest daughter, who the family calls Vivi, when she was just two. Viviana was too young to be formally diagnosed with autism, but that would come the following summer. In the years since her diagnosis, she¡¯s made progress in both social circles in terms of communicating with others and also with her schoolwork.
Like her dad, Viviana has also developed a love for the game of baseball and understands it more each year.
¡°She actually writes about it more where she likes to keep a journal about her baseball experiences, which is wonderful,¡± Joe Espada said. ¡°We can always go back and revisit those. She¡¯s controlling her emotions. I remember last year, there was a little bit of anxiousness and her being antsy about it. This year, she¡¯s [calmer]. Hopefully, it stays that way.
¡°Those are all things that people who are on the spectrum struggle with and as a dad I try to help her cope with all those things and remind her that she is my baby girl and despite all these people being here, it¡¯s just a moment between father and daughter, and I will always cherish that.¡±
Viviana jumped into her father¡¯s arms and they embraced near home plate after the pitch, which Joe later watched on video. She even handed him the baseball and asked him to sign it for her. He signed his name and inscribed ¡°I love you¡± before getting a Major League authenticator to put an authentication sticker on it. Didn¡¯t matter. This moment was as real as it gets.
¡°She did really good,¡± Joe Espada said. ¡°I¡¯m so proud of her. We¡¯ll be talking about that for weeks. It was a special day for our family.¡±