Orbit astros series#
The personality matched with the Astros, which had only been to one World Series in its previous 55 seasons. So that’s the approach I took: He’s incredibly happy to be there.”
“If I were away for something 12 years and came back, how happy would I be? Extremely happy. “Orbit was gone for 12 years,” Hamsher said. Orbit, Hamsher said, is “happy-go-lucky” because it was retired in 2000, when the Astros rebranded in its move from the Astrodome to Minute Maid Park, and the mascot was brought back in 2012, when the Astros rebranded again in its move from the National League to the American League. He also created character profiles of his mascots, which helped him craft their personalities. He studied cartoons, like Tom and Jerry, and picked up on detailed head and limb movements that convey specific emotions. Hamsher said he has to exaggerate every motion, so spectators can notice from long distances. It’s either smiling or it’s not or something else.” Because, obviously, the character’s facial expression is set. You have the power to make people laugh, make them cry, make them angry, all sorts of emotions, without saying a word or making a single facial expression. “It’s a very unique art form to say the least,” said Hamsher, who was hired to be Orbit in 2013. Hamsher did not disclose his salary, but he said it is enough for a living. He went on to work for the Arkansas Travelers as “Shelly the Horse ” the Arkansas Twisters as “Radar ” Arkansas State University as an Indian named “Red ” and the NHL’s Florida Panthers as “Stanley the Panther.” Hamsher’s career began as “Flash the Falcon” at North Pulaski, which merged with Jacksonville in 2016.Ī friend’s brother had been the Falcon, and Hamsher - who studied theater in high school and college - decided to give it a try. “It was the apex of anybody’s career to be on the largest stage imaginable,” Hamsher said. Hamsher ran back and forth twice more before Houston’s Alex Bregman hit a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 10th.Īs Bregman was swarmed by his teammates, Orbit could be seen in the background on the television broadcast, hurtling toward center field with a giant Astros flag. “Had we gone into any additional extra innings, I’m not sure I would have made it all the way.” “Game 5 was the hardest I’ve ever worked in my career,” said Hamsher, 32. Hamsher dropped the flag pole, breathed an extra gasp of air, and made a mad sprint. The Astros needed a rally, which meant Orbit needed to wave his “GET LOUDER” banner on the third-base line - all the way back on the other side of the field. Hamsher had just sprinted halfway around the ballpark in the hidden tunnels - Orbit’s antennaed baseball ears pinned back to its Astros cap, orange shoelaces flopping on white sneakers - so that he’d be ready to sprint into center field waving the victory flag if the Astros’ bullpen held the lead for the final three outs.īefore long, Houston reliever Chris Devenski walked his first batter, LA’s Yasiel Puig hit a two-run home run, and Chris Taylor’s RBI single tied the game at 12-12. The Astros led the Los Angeles Dodgers 12-9 in the top of the ninth, but two more score changes were about to make Orbit earn its alien mascot name. Kyle Hamsher, a 2003 graduate of North Pulaski High School, felt his body “literally breaking down” in the biggest game of his mascot career that began in high school.
Orbit astros portable#
Sweat pouring, fuzzy green chest heaving, the Houston Astros mascot leaned against his portable flag pole behind Minute Maid Park’s right-field fence and hoped Game 5 of the World Series would finally come to an end.