Why was Mattress Mack's first pitch canceled? Reason behind business icon's missed opportunity in Astros' ALDS opener explored

Jim 'Mattress Mack' McIngvale, a Houston superfan and tenacious furniture salesman, was initially slated to throw out the first pitch for his beloved Astros before the start of Game 1 of the ALDS against the Minnesota Twins at Minute Maid Park.

In a video that was uploaded on Saturday on X, formerly known as Twitter, McIngvale begins by expressing his excitement at receiving the initial offer and his intention to get to know Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson in order to avoid embarrassing himself.

"(The Astros) called two days ago saying, 'You want to throw out the first pitch at Minute Maid Park?'" he said. "I said 'Well of course (it would be ) quite an honor.' I threw out the fisrt pitch for Game 6 last year against the Phillies."

"Even better, yesterday Reggie Jackson, who's a consultant to the Astros and Mr. October, a great friend of mine called me and said I'm going to need to get there early and warm up so I wouldn't bounce the ball and embarrass myself, and I said, 'Good idea, Reggie.'"

That is, until the Astros called McIngvale again just hours before Saturday's game to say that Mack would not be allowed to start because Mattress Firm, a sponsor of the MLB playoffs, would not allow it.

Jim McIngvale explains the reasons behind his inaugural pitches' cancellation

"I got a call from the Astros a couple of minutes ago saying that Mattress Firm is a national sponsor of Major League Baseball, which is fine good for them, and they said that they weren't going to let me throw out the first pitch," he said.

Few individuals gained a greater following than McIngvale during the MLB playoffs of the previous season, including shortstop Jeremy Pena, who left with the World Series MVP award and the affection of every Astros mom in three counties.

McIngvale began his championship run last year by wagering $10 million, which ultimately brought him a record $75 million. Mack gained some notoriety after he was captured on camera yelling with Philadelphia Phillies supporters. He was also given the honor of throwing out the first pitch in the World Series Game 6 that sealed the team's championship last year.

Mattress Mack would surely want to win his wager on the Astros this time around too

It's safe to say that Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale would have wagered a handsome bet on his favorite ballclub this time around as well. The Astros won game 1 of the ALDS against the Twins 6-4 with masterful postseason performances from Justin Verlander, Jose Altuve, and Cuban freak Yordan Alvarez.

Houston Astros took Game 1 of the ALDS in style

"ASTROS TAKE GAME 1 OF THE ALDS. OCTOBER YORDAN IS HERE. ALTUVE LEADS OFF THE GAME IN STYLE. JV WAS NAILS AFTER THE EARLY STRUGGLE" - jakedc6

The ball club that loses Game 1 has only a 30% chance of progressing in MLB's best-of-five postseason series history. That makes sense given that the team that lost Game 1 must win three out of the following four to advance.

The Twins must win Game 2 in order to even the odds. They will have one of their duo axes on the mound, which is wonderful news. But never count out the Astros, as this unit was built to play postseason year in and year out.