As has become the usual expectation to honor the day, all the Astros and Padres will honor Jackie Robinson by wearing his jersey number, 42, at Friday night's game. The other notable events happening that day at Minute Maid Park? Well, how about a massive ticket sale?
The Astros have discounted tickets heavily for this game--$41 field box seats are $22, and just about every seat in the house is half-off. Houston could really use some extra sales, as two of the three worst attended games in Minute Maid Park history have occurred on this homestand.
How about the on-field events? Lets take a gander at the Astros official press release on the matter:
Area schools were invited to participate in the Houston Astros Breaking Barriers program by submitting essays written by students in fourth through eighth grades that discussed personal stories of overcoming barriers.
The Astros received 686 essays from 34 schools and from all entries four winning essays were selected as the Houston area winners. These four students will receive a special Astros player visit to their school and the school receives 500 tickets to the April 15 game along with 500 Whataburger coupons. During the Astros Jackie Robinson Day pre-game ceremonies, the four essay winners, their teachers and principals will be recognized on the field.
Should be a great day for the youngsters and their teachers. The Astros will also have visits from the RBI Program and the Urban Youth Academy.