Urquidy thrilled to return to Mexico with Astros

This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart’s Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

MEXICO CITY -- Astros pitcher José Urquidy and Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador are anything but strangers. Obrador invited Urquidy to his office in November 2019, shortly after Urquidy joined Fernando Valenzuela as the only Mexican-born pitchers to win a World Series game. Last fall, Urquidy paid another visit to see Obrador, who’s a huge sports fan.

With the Astros in town for the Mexico City Series, a two-game series against the Rockies on Saturday and Sunday at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú, Urquidy returned to the president’s office Friday morning. He joined a group that included Astros owner Jim Crane and his wife, Whitney, and former Rockies players Jorge de la Rosa and Vinny Castilla, who also played for Houston. They had breakfast and got a tour of the office, which has lots of sports memorabilia, including a signed ball by Hank Aaron. Urquidy said Crane presented Obrador with an Astros jersey with his name on it.

“We’ve got a good relationship,” Urquidy said Friday. “A lot of people would like to meet him, and I got that opportunity to know him. And [Thursday] when they called me and said if I want to go, I said ‘Yes, for sure.’ We had a very good breakfast, very typical food from Mexico and everyone enjoyed the food. He was explaining to us some of the paintings he has in his office, what each one means. It was a very fun time.”

Urquidy, who’s from Mazatlán, accompanied the Astros to Mexico even though he’s been on the injured list all this season. Close friends and family members from his hometown are with him in Mexico City, in addition to his mother, wife and his mother-in-law and father-in-law. Despite not playing, being in uniform for the Mexico City Series is still important.

“When I heard in the spring [the Astros were playing in Mexico], I was thinking, ‘Man, I would like to be there,’” he said. “I wanted to pitch in front of my friends and my people, but not this time. I’m very mentally focused on my rehab right now. … That’s my priority right now, being healthy and throwing the ball in games and trying to help the team to win.”

Urquidy’s chances of pitching in the Mexico City Series pretty much went out the door when he hurt his right forearm late in the spring and was shut down for a time. He’s been rehabbing since, and on Tuesday, he threw in the bullpen in Houston. He said he threw about 30 pitches, with his fastball clocking between 88 and 91 mph.

“I put a little bit of pressure on the arm, and it felt very good,” he said. “It was a big step.”

Urquidy was supposed to throw another bullpen Friday, but the trip to the president’s office trumped that. He played catch during the Astros’ light workout at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú and will throw another bullpen Saturday, with the hopes of getting on the mound for live batting practice next week in Houston.

As the only Mexican-born player on either roster, Urquidy’s excitement about the Mexico City Series is evident.

“We’re happy, because we’re here and playing in front of a lot of people from right here and they love baseball,” he said. “They get a chance to see a big league game in real life. I’ve got some friends and they’re going to enjoy those games and I’m very happy for that.”