Astros manager Joe Espada will have plenty of extra time at home in October after Houston’s unexpected slide out of the American League playoff field. The bonus time with family isn’t totally welcome by all within the Espada household.
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Espada relayed a recent conversation with hisd youngest daughter, 10-year-old, Viviana, during his end-of-season meeting with the media Tuesday morning. Viviana wasn’t exactly upset to have her dad at home. But each falls marks a usual ritual she wasn’t too happy to bypass.
“I’ll share a personal story with my little one,” Espada said. “She was very disappointed that we aren’t playing in October. I told her, ‘Daddy’s home, [we] get to spend some time [with each other].’ And she wasn’t very thrilled with the fact that we aren’t in the dance.
“She said, ‘Daddy, you guys a good team, and thank you for being here for the next couple of days, but I wished you guys would be in the postseason.'”
Astros manager Joe Espada and his family aren’t used to spending their Octobers at home. (Houston Chronicle)
Espada said Viviana appreciated the more typical plans for Halloween after multiple years trick-or-treating in hotels, adding a dose of levity to a difficult September in which the Astros ceded the AL West crown, then lost its playoff spot altogether. Espada could only chuckle at his conversation with his daughter for so long. He then turned to his own disappointment, in which a manager expected to raise a championship contender couldn’t save a team beset by injury and underperformance. Espada said Tuesday he feels as though he let down his city and its fans to a degree in 2025. He vowed to reflect, regroup, then, like the Astros, return to the postseason in 2026.
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“It’s really difficult to not be on a baseball field today suiting up and representing this city,” Espada said. “It’s time for me to reflect on how grateful I’ve been and how lucky we’ve been to be in the postseason for a very long time. It’s time for me to reflect and [ask] ‘How can we make this team better? How can I make myself better, make this team better so we can get back to October.'”
Do Astros manager Joe Espada and general manager Dana Brown have the right formula to bring the Astros back to the postseason. (Houston Astros/Getty Images)
Espada and general manager Dana Brown largely attributed the team’s step back in 2025 to its host of injuries, in which the Astros lost more players to injury than any team in baseball this season. A healthier club should lead toward a 90-or-so-win team in 2026, and a return to contention for the AL West crown. But there’s only so much satisfaction in hanging division title banners after two World Series trophies in the last decade. Viviana was peeved by missing October baseball altogether. I suspect she still wasn’t pleased last year, when the Astros played all of two playoff games before a quick playoff exit against the Detroit Tigers.
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Both Joe and Vivana Espada long for a return to extended playoff drama, with tense games in Houston paired with trips to New York, Seattle, Boston or any other locale of vanquished Astros’ foes. Will the Espada family-and, in turn, the Astros-ever reach such October highs again? Unfortunately for both the Espadas and Houston fans, that’s presently anything but a guarantee.
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This article originally published at Astros manager’s family bummed by Houston’s pre-October exit.