When Jose Altuve steps to the plate in the Astros’ season opener Friday night, he can glance into the stands at Minute Maid Park and see the familiar cardboard “J-o-s-e” sign that Barbara Moon hoists in his honor every time he comes to bat.
But Altuve won’t see Barbara herself.
With fans unable to attend because of the COVID-19 pandemic, in-stadium fan support for Altuve and the Astros will be limited to cardboard cutouts of Moon, the Astros’ “Sign Lady,” and more than a thousand fans who will be in their seats in spirit, if not the flesh, for opening night.
Along with most Major League Baseball teams, the Astros will fill some of their empty ballpark seats with life-sized photos of devoted fans.
For fans like Moon, who attends about 30 home games each season and also makes several road trips, being represented by a cardboard cutout will be a pale imitation of the thrill she gets from each ballpark visit.
But after weeks of COVID-19-enforced separation from the game, she’s just glad to have baseball back in her life.
“There’s nothing like the feel and smell of the ballpark,” Moon said. “Your friends become your baseball family. It’s a whole different thing to be at the ballpark, and I’m going to miss that.
“I can tear up now just thinking about how I’m not going to be there. But at least the boys will know that we’re there in spirit and supporting them no matter what.”
Moon will be represented by four cutouts, each holding one of the letters of Altuve’s first name, held by blown-up photos of herself; her daughter, Audrey Moon; Astros fan Nguyen Le (“My baseball son,” she says); and her husband, Jimmy.
Moon’s adoptive attitude toward Le is appropriate in light of Le’s devotion and appreciation for the Astros and for baseball.
“I’m one of the boat people,” Le, 50, said. “I got to Houston in June of 1979 and met my first friend in Mission Bend, and he taught me baseball. It helped me acclimate to being an American.
“We didn’t have money to go to the games, but I would listen to the radio and learned to watch the game mentally on the radio. Now I’m living my childhood dream of going to these games. Some people dream about going to exotic locations. You can put me in a ballpark somewhere.”
Baseball’s new ‘ticket’
The cardboard figures, available for a tax-deductible contribution of $100 each, will be distributed in the Crawford Boxes, the Hall of Fame Alley behind left and center field, the Budweiser Patio area in center field, and the bullpen area in right field.
As of Thursday, the Astros had sold about 1,100 cutouts, with proceeds benefiting the Astros Foundation. The cutouts will remain in place for the shortened 30-game home season and will be given to fans at year’s end along with replica 2019 American League championship rings.
The cutout idea has been a significant hit for many MLB teams. The Dodgers said they have sold more than 4,500, raising about $800,000 for the team’s foundation, and the Mets have more than 5,000 cutout orders, which are free to season ticket holders. The Rangers have sold more than 2,700 cutouts for the debut of Globe Life Field in Arlington.
Given the dangers of COVID-19, even if fans eventually are allowed into the ballpark this season, a cutout is the closest those like Houston businessman Warren Adamson are likely to get.
“I have a different temperament when baseball is not in season. My wife says I live and breathe it,” Adamson said. “So not being there will be difficult. But I won’t be going back in person, even if they let us, until I have more confidence about where we are.”
John Gerrish, who works for a local oil and gas company, submitted a photo of himself in his native habitat — carrying four beers (swaddled in paper bags because of the Astros’ ban on commercial endorsements in cutout photos) and wearing his replica championship rings.
“I wanted an accurate look of what I look like at the game,” Gerrish said. “I look like I’m coming back to my seat after last call before the beer carts shut down.”
Jaime Zamora, a retired television photographer who hasn’t missed an opening-day game since the late 1990s, submitted a photo of himself wearing his orange Astros uniform to celebrate what he considers a national holiday.
“I watched the two exhibition games (in Kansas City), and it’s not the same without crowd noise,” Zamora said. “So this season will be a mixed bag. With only 60 games, it won’t be a real baseball season, so we may see some surprises with teams getting hot or slumping.”
Of the Astros’ chances in the American League West, he said: “Oakland scares me. A short season may benefit them. On the flip side, the Astros won’t have to face the wrath of fans around the country (because of the sign-stealing scandal). That could help them.”
Family tributes
Family is a significant attraction for many fans who ordered cutouts. Jessica Menefee of Houston submitted a photo of her 3-year-old daughter, Becca, wearing an Astros jersey and an orange Astros hair bow. Christine Maingay ordered a cutout of her nephew, Gabriel Murphee, wearing his Justin Verlander jersey.
“Sign Lady” Barbara Moon grew up watching her father compose butcher paper signs for his grocery store in English and Chinese. She began taking posterboard signs to Astros games in 2004 and now shares her hobby with fans seated in Minute Maid’s section 110.
“When people are new, I get them involved with helping me hold up the signs,” she said. “We have the greatest time.”
Family also looms large for Dana Morrow of Tomball, who submitted a cutout photo from 2018 of her daughter, RyAnn, dressed for action in an Astros jersey, orange T-shirt, orange and blue socks and a blue wig.
“We were meeting at the ballpark that day and saw people dressed up and one person wearing a wig,” said Brooklynn Morrow, RyAnn’s sister. “I said, ‘Boy, these people go all out,’ and my boyfriend grabbed me by the arm and said, ‘The one in the wig is your sister.’”
RyAnn Morrow was celebrating a new teaching job in November 2019 when she suffered a heart attack at her home. She died a week later at age 26, but she will be represented Friday night at Minute Maid Park by her cutout and by a commemorative brick outside the stadium.
“It was one of her favorite things to do,” Dana Morrow said. “So when they announced the cutouts, it gave me an opportunity for her to be at the ballpark, even though she’s not here any longer.
“It’s been really tough without her, but I can’t express how excited I am about the cutout. It’s a way to keep her there alive, doing the thing she loved to do.”
david.barron@chron.com
twitter.com/dfbarron
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