By Michael Henkin, Staff Writer
Prior to the start of the 2017 MLB season, the Houston Astros had never won a World Series championship.
Earlier this month, however, the team won its first ring, and they did so by running through a murderer’s row of power house teams in the playoffs.
In the American League Divisional Series, the Astros beat the Boston Red Sox, who won the AL East, three games to one to advance to the American League Championship Series, where they met the New York Yankees, who had a far better season than many expected due to a strong bullpen and rookie slugger Aaron Judge.
In that series, the Yankees pushed the Astros to their limits, but the team was able to recover and win the series four games to three to advance to the World Series where they met the Los Angeles Dodgers, one of the league’s top teams.
Once again, the Astros were forced into a game seven situation, but they ultimately prevailed, winning the series four games to three to become the 2017 World Series champions. This series arguably had two of the best World Series games in history.
After an inconsistent 2016 season, in which the Astros missed the playoffs, the 2017 season was impressive for the team to say the least. The most impressive thing to note, however, is how the team rose to such prominence because it was primarily due to strategically drafting key players, developing young talent correctly, and making smart pre-season and mid-season moves.
Former Tigers ace and Cy Young-winner Justin Verlander was acquired at the trade deadline, where he went from a struggling Tigers team that has trying desperately to recover from its fall from grace since its appearance in the Fall Classic in 2006, to being in one of the best starting rotations in baseball.
Verlander joined star pitcher Dallas Keuchel, who was drafted by the Astros in the seventh round of the 2009 draft. He made his professional debut in 2012, and had a breakout year in 2017, starting the season out 7-0 with a 1.84 ERA. He finished the season off 14-5, and served as a key factor to the team’s success.
Jose Altuve, a second basemen and one of the team’s best offensive weapons, was also developed by the team. He was signed by Houston as an amateur free agent in 2007, and made his professional debut in 2011. Since then, he’s made the all-star team five times in addition to winning three batting championships. In 2017, he was presented with the Hank Aaron Award, while also being named as the Baseball America’s Major League Player of the Year. Now, he’s arguably the best all-around players in baseball today.
George Springer, an outfielder who led the Astros in home runs in 2017, was drafted by Houston as well, as the team took him in the first round of the 2011 draft. He was named the Most Valuable Player in the 2017 World Series.
These three players are only a few examples of how the Astros have transformed into a championship caliber team, but it’s clear that the endless effort that the organization has put into acquiring and developing young talent has been the key factor in the success they’re currently enjoying.
Sports Illustrated made a bold prediction in 2014 on one of their issues that the Astros would win the World Series in 2017. Nobody took it serious at the time because of their abysmal record in the years leading up to the issue.
The Astros were coming off a 51-115 record in 2013 and fans at this point were used to the Astros being a bad team.
In 2014 though the team started to get better. The team finished the season with a 70- 92 record and finished with a better record than the Texas Rangers for the first time since joining the AL West in 2013.
In 2015 though, the Astros started to show fruition from their rebuilding process, and jumped out to a first place lead and stayed there until after the All-Star break. Keuchel broke out this year, winning the Cy Young award for the American League and set an MLB record by going 15-0 at home, but they would not be able to hang on to first place in the AL West.
The team eventually managed to get a wild card birth, and would defeat the New York Yankees in the wild card game 3-0, but would fall to the eventual World Series champion Kansas City Royals in the ALDS.
In 2016, the team started off strong once again, but failed to make the playoffs because of the struggles against the Texas Rangers, who would have their own internal rebound to win the division that year.
Finally though, the rebuilding process and smart moves paid off as the Astros were able to win a World Series championship.
Teams nowadays should learn from the 2017, This team went from worst record in team history in 2013 to world champions in 2017 because of strong player development and smart free agent signings, instead of spending ludacris amounts of money. This team was built not bought, and that’s why they will be competitors for years to come.
