BRING ON THE WHITE SOX
Here's how the Astros clinched their fourth division title in five years
Oct 1, 2021, 3:57 pm
BRING ON THE WHITE SOX
For the 4th time in five years, the Astros have clinched the American League West division title and are set to play the Chicago White Sox in the A.L. Division Series.
Houston went 5-2 against the White Sox this year, and will play them in the playoffs for the first time since the two teams met in the 2005 World Series.
The Astros look to have home-field advantage for the ALDS and need to win one more game to make this a reality.
As many of us start to look ahead to the postseason, let's revisit how the Astros got to this point.
This season has been an adventure to say the least. Over the offseason, the Astros lost their long-time leadoff hitter George Springer to the Toronto Blue Jays, and saw their ace pitcher Justin Verlander get Tommy John surgery in 2020. Replacing these two would be no easy task, but the Astros were able to become one of the best teams in the American League.
The club did not have any outright replacements for the aforementioned duo, but they were able to stay competitive with some players having career years, and others stepping up their game.
As usual, the Astros were led by a powerhouse offense this year. When healthy, the "Magnificent Seven" consisted of Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Michael Brantley, Yordan Alvarez, Yuli Gurriel, Kyle Tucker and Carlos Correa.
Gurriel and Tucker both had career years at the plate, and the former may receive the American League batting title on Sunday.
Other players such as Atluve, Correa and Brantley had consistent seasons at the plate, and Alvarez has been one of the best designated hitters in baseball.
Alex Bregman missed nearly half of the year with a quad injury, but since his return to the lineup, he is hitting .282 at the plate and is providing great offense at the top of the batting order.
This season, the Astros are second in baseball in runs scored per game, while also having the game's lowest team strikeout rate.
This offense could compete with anyone in the playoffs.
Houston also has a top-five pitching staff by runs allowed per game and team ERA.
Lance McCullers Jr. had his best season on the mound and could receive some last minute Cy-Young votes after his tremendous August and September. Barring something unforeseen, McCullers will be the Astros Game 1 starter on Thursday against the White Sox.
The Game 2 starter would most likely be Framber Valdez. He has an 11-5 record with a 2.98 ERA. The remaining two spots could be up in the air between the remaining four Astros' pitchers.
Luis Garcia is firmly in the Rookie of the Year mix after starting the season as a spot starter. The 24-year-old earned his way into the starting rotation and never left. He will be a great addition to the Astros' playoff rotation and would be a great pitcher to start Game 3.
The final spot could go to Zack Greinke, Jose Urquidy or Jake Odorizzi. Greinke has struggled as of late, but could be a back to his old self in time for the postseason. Urquidy and Odorizzi could come out of the bullpen for the postseason as insurance. It's never a bad thing to have too much pitching in the postseason.
This Astros team is one of the best in baseball and looks to make another deep run in the 2021 postseason.
Shortly after his playing career ended, Jerry Dipoto took in a game at Wrigley Field with former big league manager Jim Fregosi. After a particularly nasty strikeout by Eric Gagne, Dipoto laughed.
Fregosi promptly slapped Dipoto on the back of his head.
“He said, ‘I’m just going to remind you today. ... Don’t ever forget how hard that it is to play,’” Dipoto recalled. “And that’s what I think is the thing I remember most, and I think the benefit of the guys who have gone through it, is that they recognize that it is a really hard game.”
That lesson stayed with Dipoto as he made his way to his current job with the Seattle Mariners — and membership in an exclusive club. Dipoto is one of five former major leaguers serving as the top baseball executive for a big league franchise at the moment.
Dipoto, 56, has been the president of baseball operations for Seattle since Sept. 1, 2021. Like Dipoto, Chris Young, 45, was promoted from general manager to president of baseball operations for the Texas Rangers on Sept. 13. Craig Breslow was hired as the chief baseball officer for the Boston Red Sox on Oct. 25, 2023, and Chris Getz was promoted to GM of the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 31, 2023.
Buster Posey, 37, joined the list when the former All-Star catcher was hired as president of baseball operations for the San Francisco Giants in September.
“There are a ton of incredibly successful executives who didn’t play baseball,” said Breslow, 44. “I don’t think it’s a prerequisite, but I do think it provides a level of credibility and empathy given I’ve kind of been on every side of a transaction, or every side of a conversation I’ve had to have with a player or coach. And credibility in terms of really being able to understand what players are thinking about, what they’re going through.”
Under Breslow's leadership, Boston used a complicated contract structure to add Alex Bregman in free agency. Bregman also was being pursued by the Cubs and Tigers before he agreed to a $120 million, three-year deal with the Red Sox.
San Francisco had been struggling to land a major free agent before shortstop Willy Adames agreed to a $182 million, seven-year contract with the Giants in December. Adames said Posey played a major role in his decision.
“My meeting with the team, it was me and him, basically. No agent. Nobody,” Adames said. “So we had a really, really good conversation, and I bought into his plan for this organization, for what he wants to build here in the near future.”
Breslow has a degree from Yale and Young graduated from Princeton, so the five players in charge of major league teams doesn't exactly represent some sort of counterrevolution when it comes to Ivy League grads in baseball.
But today's major-leaguers are increasingly savvy when it comes to the business side of the game, and they have firsthand experience with the data used by front offices as part of their decision-making process.
“Where we were a decade ago to where we are now, there's just so much opportunity to make better decisions nowadays based on the information that we have,” said Getz, 41. “But being well-versed in it now, you know having a former playing background is only going to position you, your résumé is just stronger.”
While that big league career is an asset in a variety of ways, it also creates a unique set of blind spots. Building out a front office that complements one another is key, Dipoto said.
“I learned to adapt along the way to things I didn’t know and to trust people who are smarter than I am to fill in those gaps,” he said, “and to recognize when I’m allowing my want to be a good teammate and my want to love the good teammate, sometimes, you have be able to discern when that doesn’t equal best player fit for this situation.”
There are several more people in position to join the club one day. Brandon Gomes helped the Los Angeles Dodgers win the World Series last year, serving as the team's GM under Andrew Friedman. Ryan Garko was promoted to assistant GM with the Detroit Tigers in May. Cole Figueroa is an assistant GM for the Rangers.
Kevin Reese and Tim Naehring work for longtime New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, and Josh Barfield is part of Getz's front office with the White Sox.
When it comes to his discussions with players interested in working in baseball operations, Breslow said the conversations provide an indication of the potential for success.
“It becomes pretty clear, generally who has the curiosity, who asks a lot of questions,” he said. "Who wants to learn why we make decisions not just what decisions are being made. Those are the people (that could make the transition).”