Mark Wahlberg is renowned in the New England area for his Boston roots, but the Astros have caught the eye of the 51-year-old in recent years.
The actor was in Houston for Opening Day on Thursday. The team brought him in as a guest to do the "play ball" announcement, and Wahlberg wanted to support Alex Bregman, who he has become close friends with.
"Well, first and foremost, he's an amazing guy, but he's also my favorite Yankee killer of all time," Wahlberg told FOX 26's Mark Berman on Thursday on his friendship with the Astros third baseman. "I've been a big, big fan of his for a while. We just became close friends. Just here to support him and I was rooting for him all the way through the course of my Red Sox route. I was right on the Astros bandwagon. Of course, once they swept the Yankees, he became my favorite Yankee killer."
Boston and New York fans likely had mixed emotions when they heard Wahlberg's praise for Houston. The Red Sox fandom still runs through the Boston native with his continued dislike of the Bronx Bombers.
Bregman was drafted by the Red Sox in the 2012 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft but opted to play college baseball at LSU before being drafted by the Astros in the 2015 draft.
He was one of the highlights in the American League Championship Series. He was 5-for-15 with a double and a home run against the Yankees. Bregman also was a fixture in the Red Sox-Astros rivalry with his social media posts in 2018.
However, the Academy Award nominee appeared to have established his allegiances for the 2023 MLB season.
"I am an Astros fan," Wahlberg said. "Listen, I live in Nevada now. I'm a fan of real talent, and you know what, they have an amazing, amazing team. He (Bregman) has amazing talent, but he's also an amazing person. So I'm a big fan of his, especially."
Wahlberg also admitted he would give up a thumb for José Altuve, who started the season on the injured list due to a broken thumb suffered during the World Baseball Classic.
One can only wonder what Astros think of Wahlberg joining their bandwagon.
