'I came at the right time': Julia Morales shares seeing Astros rise to prominence in MLB

Julia Morales has had a front row seat for the Houston Astros’ resurgence and also seen a transition in Astros fans from hoping for a World Series win to expecting it every year.

Over the course of more than a decade working Astros television broadcasts, Morales saw the Astros in one of their worst seasons then a few years later saw the franchise win its first championship in 2017. And along the way, has continued to tell the stories of not only the players but also the colorful fans that attend games.

“I’ve had the unique perspective to see this team go from being the worst team in the league to the best team in the league,” Morales said prior to the annual Hooks Winter Baseball Banquet at the American Bank Center. “Just given my timing, timing is everything, right? I came at the right time to watch it really blossom and grow.”

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Morales was the featured speaker for the annual banquet that honors local high school, college and professional baseball stars, and in a conversation with Hooks play-by-play man Michael Coffin, Morales shared stories on the Astros trials and tribulations as a horrible team, to being the lone female on the Astros charter flight to seeing the franchise grow into national prominence.

Along the way, Morales offered stories about interviews she’s done over the years, including with movie stars Kevin Costner and Matthew McConaghey.

“What I love about coming to the ballpark is you never know what’s going to happen but it’s the people I meet off the field that is so fascinating to me,” Morales said. “It’s not people from Houston all the time, there are people coming in form Corpus Christi and surrounding cities, driving hours to get to Minute Maid Park just to be close to the team.”

And when Morales has time off, she is more than willing to share her journey in the television business from local television reporter to becoming a key part of the Astros broadcast team.

“I think sharing my journey and how I got to where I am at is important to turn around and pass that along,” Morales said. “When it comes to the Astros, there’s so much joy in it and I want to share that and how much fun we are having. I’ve just been so lucky and so blessed to kind of jump in at the right time and watch them take off on this crazy journey.”

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Posthumous awards

Along with the honoring of the annual high school all-star teams and local college players, the Hooks handed out two posthumous awards on Thursday night.

One was the Lifetime Achievement Award to former Tuloso-Midway baseball coach Todd Akers. Akers passed away from prostate cancer in 2023 at the age of 57. While he was battling cancer he helped the Warriors reach the Class 4A regional semifinals in 2021 and 2022. Akers' wife and son were there to accept the award.

Also the Matt Beveridge Award was awarded to Jose “JJ” Falcon, who passed away after a battle with bone cancer last August. Falcon attended high school at Santa Gertrudis Academy, played baseball and showed animals, and also was an honorary member of the Savannah Bananas. Falcon’s mother was there to accept the award.

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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Julia Morales shares seeing Astros rise to prominence in MLB