Astros Announce Date for FanFest

The Houston Astros have announced that their annual offseason FanFest will be on Jan. 20 at Minute Maid Park.

According to the announcement, the day will include activities including autograph sessions, running the bases, swings in the batting cages and bullpen throwing sessions.

Along with those baseball-centric activities, the Astros are planning a family fun zone, fan forums and live music.

Tickets are not on sale yet and participants will be announced at a later date. But season ticket holders will have benefits like Fast Pass lanes for all activities, though some activities will require a pre-purchase.

Members of the Astros Buddies will get Fast Pass benefits to run the bases and participate in the kids autograph sessions. The Astros’ mascot, Orbit, will also appear.

The Astros are coming off a 90-win season that saw them tie for the lead in the American League West on the final day of the season and claim the division title in a tiebreaker with the Texas Rangers. 

The Astros reached the American League Championship Series for the seventh straight season but fell to the Rangers in seven games. The Rangers went on to win their first World Series title.

The Astros are coming off a Winter Meetings in which they made minor moves, including signing a backup catcher in Victor Catarini and trading for reliever Dylan Coleman, previously with Kansas City.

The Astros still have work to do this offseason, namely salary arbitration, where they have several players that are eligible for raises under that system. Most prominent among those eligible players are outfielder Kyle Tucker and pitcher Framber Valdez.