I'll be writing more about the Astros win in a bit, but I did have a weird realization late last night watching the postgame celebration: this was like winning it for the first time, a second time. 2017 happened. I loved it at the time. Countless hours, nervously pacing around in a dark basement, watching long, dramatic, brilliant games between the Dodgers and Astros, only to have it end with a triumphant Game 7 victory in LA. But as we all know, that team cheated.
Maybe it was overblown, maybe other teams were doing it. Many analyses have been made showing that the trash-can banging scheme had fairly limited effect on the Astros hitters, and in some cases was counterproductive (the sign-stealing wasn't 100% accurate every time). But it didn't matter. It didn't matter for the non-Astros baseball fans who took the signal to mercilessly hate on the Astros and ran with it. And for me, and I do think a subset of Astros fans, those 2017 memories are a bit tainted to. My memories of those moments in 2017 are still beautiful, but I have to stay in 2017 to realize that.
If people want to say that the Astros 2017 title doesn't count, or has an asterisk - well fine. We will never win that argument. But if that's the case, then 2022 can get livened up for being the first "real" title. I will never forget the first time I saw my team win a title, and I definitely won't forget the second either.
That game itself was a perfect representation of what the Astros have become since 2017. The holdovers from that team either didn't play in Game 6, or had minimal impact on this game (though both Bregman and Altuve had great world series's). It was the new guys leading the way, from Framber pitching another gem, turning his strikeout stuff up to 11 again. It was of course Yordan's incredible, perfect home run - hit so well it would've been a home run even in the old days of Tal's Hill. The majesty of that moment, of Framber and three relievers locking it down. That was the moment I've been chasing since the day we found out about the cheating scandal.
It was also the first time for a second time because this was the first time winning it in Houston. In 2017 they did it in LA. Being the real first world series I got to experience, I didn't mind at the time. But I minded more when in 2019 and 2021, I saw other teams celebrate World Series wins on the Astros turf. As I grew older as a sports fan, I am someone who has somewhat been able to walk away from the "Championship or Nothing" mindset, and in both of those two years (and in 2017 also), I saw the Astros win their ALCS title in Houston, but those two World Series losses were tough to take.
That is all in rear-view mirror. Seeing the Astros fans standing for basically the last three innings. Seeing the build up in the 9th inning, with finally a trustable closer to get the last three outs. Hearing the crowd pent up every bit of hate they had to imbibe for three years, ready to let it all out, as Castellanos hit that fly ball and Kyle Tucker tracked it down. That moment, that incredible outpouring of emotion and happiness, is a memory that will last a lifetime.
The Astros have been probably the team I've followed more ardently longer than any other. In football it shifted from the Colts to the Broncos and back, all the while with some fleeting memories of my childhood dalliances with the Raiders. In basketball there's a respectful fandom of the Spurs, but nothing that cut to the core. There's the Devils, but the fact I was fairly OK with their decade of irrelevance following their 2012 Cup Final run (though, they've been amazing so far). But it's been Houston ever since 2002 or so.
Starting from Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman, cresting with teh 2005 World Series run, and another half decade sliding into mediocrity. Then through the worst three year tank/rebuild ever, though in retrospect a mercilessly effective one. From the little glimpses of hope in 2014, when George Springer was called up, Dallas Keuchel refound himself and Jose Altuve having his breakout. And then as it took off in 2015, with Carlos Correa getting called up. It's been great since then, but it was great all along. And the best part is twenty years on, there's still moments like last night, getting to experience things for the first time. May that never change.
