Inside the Astros

Did Superstitious Change Lead to Christian Walker's First Notable Astros Moment?

This might have turned around the season for Christian Walker and the Houston Astros.
May 25, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros first baseman Christian Walker (8) shouts after hitting a walk-off home run during the ninth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Daikin Park
May 25, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros first baseman Christian Walker (8) shouts after hitting a walk-off home run during the ninth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Daikin Park | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

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The Houston Astros need Christian Walker to be the guy he has been for the last three years.

From 2022-24 with the Arizona Diamondbacks, the slugger was a home run threat and elite defender, impacting the game in multiple ways that led to him getting handsomely paid by the Astros this past offseason with the hope he would solve their first base issues.

That has not been the case to start 2025.

In fact, Walker is seen by many as one of the most disappointing new players, and it will take a turnaround for that notion to change.

He accomplished the first step on Sunday when he hit a two-run walk-off homer to give Houston a series victory over their rival Seattle Mariners where they won three out of four.

Walker also had a great stretch during the last two games of the set, going 2-for-4 on Saturday before going 3-for-5 with the walk-off blast and three RBI on Sunday.

Everyone is hoping this is the moment that turns things around for the struggling slugger, and maybe he has something to do with it based on some superstitious changes that were made.

According to Chandler Rome of The Athletic, Walker switched lockers from the one he inherited after Jason Heyward departed in the offseason to a different one. He also shaved the mustache he had been sporting and wore his socks high.

Maybe it's a coincidence that he had his most notable moment with the Astros after all of this.

Or maybe it's not.

"I'll do whatever I can to try to get the baseball gods' attention," he said, per Rome.

Walker wouldn't necessarily call what he did being superstitious, but not many baseball players do.

"I feel like I don't go out of my way, but if I throw a couple hits out there, I'll probably do a real similar routine. We call it routine, not superstition. But I think it's part of the game," he added.

Whatever he wants to call it, something clicked.

Houston just has to hope that's the moment that gets him back to being one of the best first basemen in the MLB, because if that's the case, then the outlook for the Astros looks a whole lot better.

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Brad Wakai
BRAD WAKAI

Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he did work at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad currently covers the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros for Sports Illustrated/FanNation. He is also the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continues to cover Penn State athletics. Brad is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, discussing topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai