(All photos courtesy Houston Astros)
The Astros hosted a successful 2026 FanFest on Saturday, Jan. 24 at Daikin Park. The 2026 FanFest wraps up a great week of Astros Caravan stops throughout the Texas community and represents the official launch of baseball season for Astros fans.
The official kickoff of the 2026 season saw 10,420 fans participate in autograph sessions, photo opportunities, games, Fan Forums, Q&As, play catch on the field, take swings in the batting cages, and more.
“We were thrilled to welcome the greatest fans in baseball back to Daikin Park to kick off the 2026 season, and we’re grateful to our players and coaches for spending the day with them,” said Anita Sehgal, Astros Executive Vice President, Marketing and Communications. “Fan Fest is such a special tradition, and we love creating unforgettable moments and memories for all our fans.”
Astros Manager Joe Espada participated in FanFest along with all the members of his coaching and support staff: Omar López (bench coach), Josh Miller (pitching coach), Ethan Katz (assistant pitching coach), Victor Rodriguez (hitting coach), Anthony Iapoce (assistant hitting coach), Dave Clark (first base coach), Tony Perezchica (third base coach), Jason Bell (Major League field coordinator/outfield coach), Tommy Kawamura (game planning coach), Tim Cossins (catching instructor) and Dan Hennigan (director of hitting and offensive coordinator), as well as bullpen catchers Javier Bracamonte and Caleb Nunes.
Astros General Manager Dana Brown also took part in FanFest.
The Astros had 22 players at FanFest, including IF/OF Jose Altuve, OF Yordan Alvarez, RHP Spencer Arrighetti, RHP Hunter Brown, 3B Carlos Correa, RHP Lance McCullers Jr., and OF Cam Smith. The player group also included RHP Jason Alexander, IF Nick Allen, RHP AJ Blubaugh, OF Zach Cole, IF Zach Dezenzo, LHP Colton Gordon, LHP Bryan King, IF Brice Mathews, RHP Jayden Murray, LHP Bennett Sousa, RHP Logan VanWey, LHP Brandon Walter, RHP Ryan Weiss, RHP Hayden Wesneski and IF Shay Whitcomb.
Several Astros alumni were also in attendance, including Astros Hall of Famers José Cruz, Larry Dierker, Terry Puhl, and Shane Reynolds, as well as Alan Ashby, Brandon Backe, Michael Bourn, Jason Castro, Jarred Cozart, J.C. Hartman, Art Howe, Phil Garner, and Chris Sampson.
Many members of the broadcast teams on Astros TV and Astros radio also had a presence. This group included Todd Kalas, Geoff Blum, Julia Morales, Robert Ford, Francisco Romero, Alex Treviño, Brian Bogusevic and Kevin Eschenfelder.
FanFest is also the culmination of a successful Astros Caravan from January 21-23, which gave fans the opportunity to connect with players, manager, alumni, broadcasters and front office personnel at various locations as the club approaches the start of Spring Training. This year’s caravan made visits to Tomball, The Woodlands, Corpus Christi, Central Houston, Austin, Baytown, Port Neches, Beaumont, Sugar Land, Missouri City, Ingram and San Antonio.
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