World Series champs Houston Astros invited to White House, plan to attend

HOUSTON – The Houston Astros have been invited to the White House to celebrate their World Series championship.

Astros president Reid Ryan told KPRC 2 sports director Randy McIlvoy that the invitation was received sometime last month.

"We are honored to be invited," Ryan said. "This year, we don’t play (the Washington) Nationals in interleague and don’t play at Baltimore until the end of the year. We talked to the White House to look for a date in spring training."

Ryan said he hopes to get a firm date in a couple of weeks. The Astros won their first World Series title last year.

It is a tradition for the president to invite teams that have won sports championships to the White House.

The visit usually includes a ceremony where the president honors the winners.

The Astros open spring training in mid-February in West Palm Beach, Florida.