Astros, Joe Espada make pitch for Autism Awareness

HOUSTON – Waking up Tuesday morning filled with excitement, the first thing on Viviana Espada’s mind was throwing the ceremonial first pitch to her dad, Astros manager Joe Espada.

Tuesday night marked the second consecutive year for the father-daughter bonding moment at the Astros’ Autism Awareness Night.

“I’m excited,” Joe Espada said. “This is a father and daughter moment that we get to spend together at the ball field and create memories forever. We could talk about it throughout her childhood and adult life later on.”

A first pitch very close to our hearts. 🧡

Viviana Espada threw out the Ceremonial First Pitch to her dad for Autism Awareness Night. pic.twitter.com/4JJzZEVO1f

— Houston Astros (@astros) April 2, 2025

Autism awareness is very dear to Espada’s heart. Viviana, who will be 10 years old later this month, was diagnosed with Autism early. Joe Espada said he works to be an advocate every day for Autism awareness and supporting people through the challenges they face daily.

Viviana Espada executed her second ceremonial first pitch well before a crowd of 30,314 at Daikin Park. The Giants beat the Astros 3-1 in second game of a three-game series.

The Astros organization started having an Autism Awareness Night four years ago at Daikin Park after a conversation with former Astros All-Star Alex Bregman, said Astros executive vice president Anita Sehgal.

Making baseball accessible

“We’ve always had a philosophy to try and look for opportunities to make baseball accessible to everyone,” Sehgal said. “I would credit our Astros Foundation and community team.

“And I would credit some of the conversations we had with the Bregmans originally about supporting (it). It was a cause that was important to them, and we wanted to come up with a way to help support them.”

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The team that manages the Astros’ theme nights works alongside the facilities team and marketing team to make sure the night runs smoothly. The marketing team works on communication and creating a meaningful item for the families to demonstrate their support.

The facilities team ensures the sensory rooms are set up correctly.

Rooms with decreased audio and lighting have been made available on the 100, 300, and 400 levels at Daikin Park. A sensory room, which provides a calming space, an adult space, and a movement space, is also made available.

Since the very first Autism Awareness Night for the Astros, Espada has seen it evolve into much more than just one night of the year. The team works one-on-one with families to spread awareness throughout the season.

“This is more than just today,” Espada said. “This continues. This is like opening the door through the summer of Autism Awareness.”

Joe Espada vows long commitment

Espada wishes to do more within the community to continue promoting Autism awareness. Whether it be bringing kids to the ballpark or visiting schools that work with young children with Autism, Espada wants to use his position of leadership to be a voice in spreading awareness.

Espada wants to continue creating awareness and speaking on the importance of Autism awareness.

“The more we do that, the more people understand that this could hit,” Espada said. “It hits in every community around our country. So if we can all come together and help just a little bit it will be great.”

_{Featured photo courtesy of Houston Astros.}