I can't believe I want the Houston Astros to win the World Series
It’s World Series time. Starting tonight, the Houston Astros take on the Philadelphia Phillies in a best-of-seven series to determine the 2022 baseball champion.
I don’t have a horse in this race. I really couldn’t care who wins the title. But, because I’m a baseball fan and because I’ll be watching, it would be nice to have someone to cheer for. To my surprise, for the next week or so, I’m jumping on the Astros bandwagon.
Why the surprise? Well, kids, it was just five years ago that the Houston team was caught in a cheating scandal that most people think led to the 2017 World Series win. It was pretty revolting. Even more revolting was that the players involved escaped any punishment. Their reputations took a huge hit, but there were zero repercussions. They kept the title, their rings and their money.
Apparently, I’ve mellowed quite a bit on this. Maybe it’s all the time that has passed. Moreso, it’s that most of the players from that team have moved on. Sure, Altuve and Bregman are still around, but the rest of the team had nothing to do with what occurred in 2017. I also like that they are young, hungry and homegrown. They’re really good and fun to watch.
But, what really put me over the top for Houston is their current manager, Dusty Baker. How can you not like a guy who helped create the high-five? How can you not like a guy who once gave a joint to Jimi Hendrix? How can you not like a guy who has come so close to winning it all multiple times, suffered soul-crushing defeats and still returns to try again?
When you add that all up, in my mind it equals Houston. Yeah, there’s a high minus in having to watch Astro fan Ted Cruz sitting in plain view behind home plate for the next ten days, but I can get past that, maybe.
So…go Houston! Wow! I think I need to take a shower.