Astros Win One for Dusty
The Houston Astros have won the Major League Baseball World Series for the second time in six years. On Saturday, Nov. 5, they defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1, winning the best-of-seven series four games to two. It was an especially sweet championship for the veterans of Houston’s 2017 championship team, as well as for its manager.
The Phillies held the momentum early in the series. They led two games to one, powered by big home runs from stars Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper. But Houston buckled down and won three games in a row, including two in Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park, where the Phillies had not previously lost a playoff game. Game four featured the first-ever combined no-hitter in World Series history. A combined no-hitter is a game in which multiple pitchers on the same team give up no hits in a nine-inning win. Four Astros pitchers combined to silence the powerful Philadelphia offense. In the pivotal game five, Astros defenders Trey Mancini and Chas McCormick made game-saving plays in 8th and 9th innings, respectively, to preserve a narrow 3-2 victory.
Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña was named the series MVP. With the departure of superstar Carlos Correa over the last offseason, the rookie Peña had big shoes to fill. He posted solid regular-season offensive numbers while winning a Gold Glove award for his defense. Peña mashed in the postseason to the tune of .345/.367/1.005. He went 10-for-25 with a home run and 3 RBI in the World Series.
The Astros paired clutch hitting from Peña and others with strong starting pitching. But Houston’s lights-out bullpen stole the show. Their relievers sported a microscopic 0.83 ERA through 54 1/3 innings of postseason work.
It was a redemptive victory for the Houston club, which has been vilified since the 2019 revelations of an organization-wide cheating scandal. From 2016 to 2018 and possibly longer, Houston made use of a camera feed that was part of their home stadium’s instant replay system to view and decode opposing catcher’s hand signals. Pitch information was relayed to players in the dugout and to batters on the field. In some cases, players in the dugout cued batters to the upcoming pitch by banging on a trash can. Major League Baseball (MLB) commissioner Rob Manfred levied fines and other penalties against the franchise, but refused punish any of the involved players or to vacate the 2017 championship.
With this year’s ostensibly-clean win, the Astros sought to remove some of the tarnish from their previous success. To go with their two World Series victories, Houston has made six consecutive league championship series (LCS) appearances, the longest streak in the AL.
The championship was the first managerial World Series win for veteran skipper Dusty Baker. Astros owner Jim Crane hired the affable Baker in the wake of the sign-stealing scandal. A player’s manager, Baker was the perfect person to deflect criticism away from his team and to gel with Houston’s veteran roster. Baker had previously served stints as the manager of the San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and Washington Nationals. He had piloted each team to the playoffs, but had never led them to a World Series victory.
Baker became the oldest manager to win the World Series, at 73 years of age. He also won his 2,000th regular season game as manager in May. The feats make him a shoo-in for eventual induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Baker’s ‘Stros cruised through the regular season with 106 wins, earning a bye in MLB’s newly-expanded playoff structure. They swept an upstart Seattle Mariners team in the divisional round. Then, they completed resounding sweep of the New York Yankees in the ALCS, whose fanbase had been among the most vocal in their remembrance of the sign-stealing scandal.
The World Series defeat marked a bitter end to the Phillies’ Cinderella run. After a disappointing start to the regular season, Rob Thomson took over as manager from veteran Joe Girardi. The team responded by going 65-46 down the stretch to break their 10-year playoff drought. The unlikely wild card team convincingly defeated the St. Louis Cardinals, the defending champion Atlanta Braves, and the free-spending San Diego Padres to make the Fall Classic.