In 1995, Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler were the cornerstones of the Houston Rockets’ second NBA championship team. More than 24 years later, the Houston Astros are hoping the dynamic duo can spark similar success on the baseball diamond.
With Major League Baseball’s Astros one victory from their second World Series title in three years, Olajuwon will throw out the game’s ceremonial first pitch to Drexler before Tuesday night’s Game 6 at Minute Maid Park in downtown Houston.
It’s only fitting that the honor is shared by the pair of Houston legends, who were standout college basketball players at the University of Houston prior to leading the Rockets’ second championship team in the 1994-95 NBA season.
In that 1994-95 run, the Rockets overcame an 0-2 deficit in a playoff series — just as the Astros are currently one victory from doing the same thing after dropping the first two games of the 2019 World Series.
Future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Justin Verlander will start for the Astros in Tuesday’s Game 6 against Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals.
In a strange twist of fate, the current Rockets will be in D.C. (the home of the Nationals) to play the Wizards when Game 6 occurs. If the Nationals win Game 6, the Rockets-Wizards game would run simultaneously with Game 7 of the World Series.
