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Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. (43) reacts to striking out New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) to end the top of the eight inning of Game 7 of the ALCS at Minute Maid Park, Satuday, Oct. 21, 2017, in Houston. ( Karen Warren \/ Houston Chronicle )<\/p>\n
Karen Warren\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
From being part of the\u00a0Houston Astros<\/a>‘ core that won two World Series rings<\/a> to his “Bury me in the H,” proclamation, it’s hard to imagine an athlete who represented his adopted hometown more than Lance McCullers.<\/p>\n The 32-year-old right-hander’s time with the Astros came to an end Wednesday when the team he’s been with for 12 years worked to finalize a trade that will\u00a0send him to the Milwaukee Brewers<\/a>.<\/p>\n He’ll head to Milwaukee carrying pieces of Houston with him, literally. In 2022,\u00a0McCullers made his Houston love permanent in the form of tattoos. His left triceps features an astronaut and the World Series trophy with the bottom of the astronaut morphing into a dripping, upside-down depiction of Houston’s skyline. Below that are the words “Be Someone,” a recreation of the\u00a0city’s iconic bridge graffiti<\/a>.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n On the field, Houston will never forget his clutch postseason performances, and off the field, there are countless stories of him and his wife Kara<\/a> stepping up to help those in need, especially the community’s stray and homeless dog population<\/a>.<\/p>\n Here are 10 moments that stand out in Lance\u00a0McCullers’ Houston Astros’ career …<\/p>\n 24 straight curveballs<\/p>\n Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. (43) and catcher Brian McCann (16) celebrate as the Houston Astros beat the New York Yankees 4-0 in Game 7 of the ALCS to head to the World Series at Minute Maid Park Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017 in Houston. ( Michael Ciaglo \/ Houston Chronicle)<\/p>\n Michael Ciaglo\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n This goes down as one of the most legendary performances in\u00a0Astros history. After starting Game 4 of the 2017 American League Championship Series against the Yankees, McCullers was asked to come out of the bullpen for Game 7 for\u00a0just the second time in his big-league career and he did it on three days’ rest. McCullers entered in the sixth inning with a 4-0 lead and closed out the game with four scoreless innings, allowing just two baserunners. However, the part that is etched into Astros’ lore is that McCullers had the guts to throw 24 straight curveballs to Yankees hitters, daring them to hit it. They couldn\u2019t. The Yankees swung and missed at 10 of McCullers’ 41 breaking pitches that night as he recorded six of his 12 outs by strikeout.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201c(Astros manager A.J. Hinch) told me yesterday, ‘You\u2019re gonna get the ball. Show me you want to keep it, and I\u2019m not gonna take it from you.’ I did not want to give him a single glimpse that I didn\u2019t want to keep that ball,\u201d McCullers said in a champagne-soaked clubhouse<\/a> celebrating the franchise\u2019s first World Series trip since 2005. \u201cI would\u2019ve pitched 20 innings tonight if I had to. I felt great. And I\u2019m healthy. That\u2019s all that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n Game 7 of 2017 World Series<\/p>\n The Astros dugout celebrates starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr.’s (43) RBI ground out that allows Brian McCann to score during the second inning of Game 7 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017, in Los Angeles. ( Michael Ciaglo \/ Houston Chronicle )<\/p>\n Michael Ciaglo\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n After getting a win in Game 3 of the 2017 World Series,\u00a0McCullers was given the ball five days later for the biggest game in franchise history: Game 7 at Dodger Stadium. McCullers didn\u2019t pitch his best \u2014 in fact he set a record for any postseason game by hitting four batters \u2014 but he worked out of trouble to throw 2 \u2153 scoreless innings and left with a 5-0 lead in the third inning. Part of that lead could be credited to\u00a0McCullers’ bat, which delivered an RBI groundout in the second inning. Brad Peacock, Francisco Liriano, Chris Devenski and Charlie Morton finished off the night on the mound to help deliver the Astros their first World Series title<\/a>.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Key playoff start\u00a0in 2022 title run<\/p>\n Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. reacts after striking out Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez to end the fifth inning of Game 3 of the American League Division Series on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022, in Seattle.<\/p>\n Karen Warren\/Staff photographer<\/p>\n Forgotten a bit in the\u00a0Astros’ 2022 championship run is Game 3 of the American League Division Series in Seattle. The Astros swept the meeting against their division rivals, but every game was agonizingly close, especially the clincher that went 18 innings<\/a> before Jeremy Pe\u00f1a broke a scoreless tie with a home run. The game never would have made it that far had McCullers not gotten things started by throwing six scoreless innings, striking out seven.<\/p>\n Giving it his all in 2021<\/p>\n Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. pumps his fist after striking out Chicago White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal to end the first inning in Game 4 of the American League Division Series Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021, in Chicago.<\/p>\n Karen Warren\/Staff photographer<\/p>\n The 2021\u00a0Astros looked primed for another possible World Series title and a lot of that optimism was based on McCullers’ resurgence. He had bounced back from injury and undoubtedly was the team\u2019s ace, going 13-5 with a career-best 3.16 ERA to go along with a career-high 186 strikeouts in 162 \u2153 innings. He kept it going in the playoffs, dominating the White Sox in the American League Division Series, throwing 10 \u2154 innings of one-run ball over two starts. However, it was his start in the series-clinching Game 4 that led to his demise, leaving after four scoreless innings with forearm tightness. Carlos Correa, who was in McCullers’ same draft class, said his friend was devastated by an injury that would keep him out of action until August of the next year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Correa said McCullers texted him after the injury<\/a>,\u00a0\u201cSorry, I couldn\u2019t keep going for you guys.’\u00a0I was like \u2018There\u2019s nothing to be sorry about. You battled your ass off for so many years for this organization. It\u2019s just something you can\u2019t control.\u00a0We\u2019re going to try to go out there and win for him.\u201d<\/p>\n Without a key piece of their starting rotation, the Astros still made it to the World Series, but lost in six games to the Atlanta Braves.<\/p>\n ‘Bury me in the H’<\/p>\n Houston pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. celebrates with his family after the Astros won the World Series over the Philadelphia Phillies at Minute Maid Park on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, in Houston.<\/p>\n Jon Shapley\/Staff photographer<\/p>\n When the\u00a0Astros lost Carlos Correa to free agency in 2022 after watching the likes of Gerrit Cole, George Springer, Dallas Keuchel and Charlie Morton also leave, a fan replied to McCullers on social media, asking him to never abandon Houston.\u00a0McCullers gave an epic response:<\/a>\u00a0\u201c(I\u2019ll) be here as long as they will have me. Bury me in the H.\u201d Those final five words became immortalized on T-shirts and on social media.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n 2022 World Series speech<\/p>\n Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. with the trophy during the Houston Astros World Series parade downtown on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022 in Houston.<\/p>\n Karen Warren\/Staff photographer<\/p>\n McCullers played a role on the field in the 2022 championship run, but then he also delivered an epic speech in the clubhouse after finishing off the World Series against the Phillies at home, detailing the team\u2019s postseason run through Seattle, New York and Philadelphia.<\/p>\n \u201cFirst, before I get a little rowdy. I don\u2019t want anyone to take this for granted,\u201d McCullers told his teammates while holding a giant bottle of champagne<\/a>. \u201cRuns like this, what we\u2019ve been able to do in this clubhouse, it doesn\u2019t come around very often. This is special.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we started this f\u2014 journey, they sent us out West, we f\u2014 unplugged the Electric Factory.\u00a0Then, they sent us up Northeast and we had to remind everyone who the real f\u2014 savages are. Then, they sent us to Red October, left them in a pool of blood. Ring the f\u2014 ball, because we\u2019re the World Series champions.\u201d<\/p>\n Debut with Batman cleats<\/p>\n Houston\u00a0Astros Pitcher Lance McCullers\u00a0shows off his Batman cleats while delivering a pitch in his Major League debut during the\u00a0Athletics-Astros game on May 18, 2015 at Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas.<\/p>\n Icon Sports Wire\/Corbis\/Icon Sportswire via Getty<\/p>\n When\u00a0McCullers made his big-league debut in 2015 at\u00a0just 21 years old, he wasn\u2019t shy about it. McCullers was flashy by pitching in cleats adorned with a black and yellow Batman logo. McCullers pitched well, giving up just one run in 4 \u2154 innings, but caught some grief for his choice of footwear.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI was talking to (George) Springer, and I said something about the cleats, and he said, ‘Wear them, man. Go out there and do what you\u2019ve been doing,’\u201d McCullers said after his debut<\/a>. \u201cI love Batman. I have the trilogy, and I have some other stuff.\u00a0I think I saw some people getting on me (online), but it\u2019s all right.\u201d<\/p>\n As it turns out, the Batman logo was against MLB rules and McCullers wasn\u2019t allowed to wear his favorite spikes again.<\/p>\n Ready to fight in 2023\u00a0ALCS<\/p>\n McCullers missed the entire 2023 season with an arm injury, but that didn\u2019t mean he didn\u2019t have his teammates’ backs. When things got hectic in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series<\/a> against the Texas Rangers, McCullers showed he\u2019s a real ride-or-die. After Bryan Abreu hit the Rangers’ Adolis Garcia with a pitch in the eighth inning, both benches cleared, but McCullers was the first one out of the dugout trying to get his hands on Garcia. He was fined for the incident<\/a> and not allowed to sit in the dugout for the remainder of the series, which the Rangers won in seven games.<\/p>\n ‘Something nice for Penny’<\/p>\n Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. hugs Penny Boyle before the start of an MLB baseball game at Minute Maid Park, Tuesday, April 3, 2018, in Houston. ( Karen Warren \/ Houston Chronicle )<\/p>\n Karen Warren\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n When\u00a0McCullers saw a social media video of a 4-year-old girl from East Bernard claiming she was going to grow up and marry the Astros pitcher, McCullers reached out. He invited little Penny Boyle and her family to a game and got them on the field during batting practice. Penny turned out to be a little shy meeting her favorite player in person, but still got a hug. When approached by reporters about the moment, McCullers said<\/a>, \u201cI didn\u2019t do this for the media or anything. I just wanted to do something nice for Penny.\u201d<\/p>\n Stepping up for another kid<\/p>\n Fans react as Astros Lance McCullers signs autographs before a charity softball match at Minute Maid Park in Houston on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. Travis Scott and his Cactus Jack Cactus Jack Foundation presented the inaugural Fall Classic Softball Game featuring an all-star lineup of athletes and entertainers in support of Scott\u2019s Cactus Jack Foundation and the City of Houston.<\/p>\n Elizabeth Conley\/Staff photographer<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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