Bregman, Stassi team up to hand out turkeys

HOUSTON -- Astros fan Ryan Carr joined hundreds in braving cold temperatures on Thursday morning to wait in line and receive a free turkey from All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman, who joined with teammate Max Stassi and Houston philanthropist and furniture store owner Jim McIngvale in helping those in need.
Carr was one of 500 people to receive a free frozen turkey for Thanksgiving and took the time to get a picture with the players, as well as having Bregman autograph his Astros jacket. Hundreds of others followed, with Bregman and Stassi standing behind a table for hours to hand out turkeys, shake hands and pose for pictures inside Gallery Furniture.
"I'm a huge Astros fan, and I heard Bregman was out here and wanted to meet him," said Carr, who passed his turkey along to someone else in line. "I've been pretty fortunate this year, so I want to give it away to one of these ladies outside who's less fortunate than me. There's a lot of people out there who said they didn't even have computers to register on line [for the giveaway]. I have been blessed. I'm good. I wanted to get an autograph from Bregman, so that was pretty cool."

Bregman has partnered with McIngvale -- one of the most recognizable and charitable business leaders in Houston over the past 30 years -- several times since his callup to the Astros. McIngvale said Bregman called him a few days ago and wanted to hand out some turkeys in the spirit of Thanksgiving.
"It's awesome," Bregman said. "[McIngvale] has done so much for this Houston community, and any chance we have to give back and help out, we're going to take that opportunity and hopefully impact some lives."
McIngvale, who last year refunded $10 million to customers who bought furniture as part of a promotion in which they would get it for free if the Astros won the World Series, has lauded Bregman's efforts in the community. He sponsored Bregman's baseball camp earlier this year and marveled at how the All-Star made the most of a less-than-ideal environment.
"It was raining really hard, and we were inside a little gym and he was sick that day and stayed for five hours," McIngvale said. "He was just a top-class individual, a guy that gives back to the community and takes his role as a Major League ballplayer very seriously to make people happy and better. We're real proud of Alex, and it's great to have Max here this morning, as well."
Giving back to a community that supported the Astros is what it's about for Stassi.
"Everyone supports us throughout the season," he said. "It's our offseason so it's time for us to give back. It's the least we can do for this community."