Cody Deason grew up in the Los Angeles suburb of Ojai, California rooting for the Dodgers. Then on Tuesday, Deason was selected by the Houston Astros in the fifth round of the MLB Draft, and suddenly he was forced to reevaluate some things.
According to the Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome, Deason said that his allegiances now lie with the Astros and that the 2017 World Series (in which Houston defeated L.A. in seven games) was no longer “heartbreaking” and was now “the greatest thing that’s ever happened.”
#Astros fifth-round pick Cody Deason: "I was a Dodgers fan and, as of about three hours ago, I am an Astros fan. That was heartbreaking to see last year. But now I look back on it and say 'Wow, this is the greatest thing that's ever happened.'"
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) June 5, 2018
Deason, a right-handed pitcher from Arizona, seems to have learned that allegiance to your childhood team can’t compete with allegiance to who’s signing your checks. Maybe it pained lifelong Cubs fan Jason Kipnis to homer off his hometown team in the 2016 World Series, but he sure as hell circled the bases anyway.
Deep down, Deason can continue to root for the Dodgers and even wish they had won last fall’s World Series. But around members of the Astros’ organization, he’ll probably want to keep those thoughts to himself. It sounds as though he’s off to a good start.