Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans switched sports on Monday night and delivered a strike with the ceremonial first pitch before the Houston Astros’ Major League Baseball game against the Chicago Cubs.

Ryans said he hoped he could take some of the Astros’ “vibe” back to his NFL team.

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In each of the previous six seasons, Houston has played in the American League Championship Series. The Astros advanced to the World Series four times and won the MLB crown in 2017 and 2022.

During the same six years, the Texans won one playoff game and compiled a record of 36-61-1.

“The Astros’ run is amazing,” Ryans said. “They’re always there at the end. They’re champions. They have a championship atmosphere, and it’s what we want to bring on the football side. In baseball, the Astros are doing it, so for us, for the Texans, that’s the type of atmosphere we want to bring, so we want to mimic what the Astros are doing.”

Ryans is no stranger to baseball. While he was an All-State linebacker at Jess Lanier High School in Bessemer, he also played catcher for the Purple Tigers in baseball and admired another Bessemer native who excelled at football and baseball – Bo Jackson.

“This is very cool,” Ryans said. “I grew up a big baseball fan, so to have the opportunity to do this, to throw out the first pitch, it’s a huge honor.”

After making All-State as a linebacker at Jess Lanier in 2001, Ryans earned unanimous All-American recognition, won the SEC Defensive Player of the Year Award and received the Lott IMPACT Trophy for the 2005 season as a senior at Alabama. (IMPACT stands for integrity, maturity, performance, academics, community and tenacity.) He capped his college career as the Defensive MVP of the 2006 Cotton Bowl in Alabama’s 13-10 victory over Texas Tech.

A second-round draft choice, Ryans was the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year as the Texans’ middle linebacker in 2006. Ryans played the first six of his 10 NFL seasons with Houston. He returned to the Texans in January as the team’s coach.

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“It’s just like coming home, so it’s been fun,” Ryans said. “It’s been a warm welcome from the city. It’s been a lot of energy. The fans are fired up. I’m fired up. Our team, the guys are fired up. We’re excited to get started. We’re just very thankful for the support that we get all throughout the city, and we’re just looking to come out and put on for the city.”

The Astros defeated the Cubs 6-4 on Monday night.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.