BURY ME IN THE H

Astros' Lance McCullers opens up about his comeback, World Series game plan

Astros' Lance McCullers opens up about his comeback, World Series game plan
Lance McCullers Jr. is no stranger to the World Series. Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images.
Here are some advantages Houston Astros will look to exploit for potential ALDS closeout

Lance McCullers, Jr. is seriously busy. The 2022 World Series is just hours away at Minute Maid Park, a staggering fourth appearance by the Houston Astros in the past six years. Not surprisingly, the team is in go-time mode as it prepares to face the Philadelphia Phillies. The entire city is buzzing with a “this is our year” frenzy, and on this crisp morning in late October, it seems every third local is sporting an Astros jersey.

A veteran, team-first, clubhouse leader and pivotal pitching presence in the Astros’ playoff run, McCullers is ready for the task.

But first, the fiery, never-back-down star who boasts a nationwide army of fans and also one of the nastiest sliders and curveballs in Major League Baseball, has to tackle another major task — one that demands the famously focused McCullers’ undivided attention. It’s serious.

I’m coloring with my daughter,” he tells CultureMap via phone as we plan a visit to his home. He’s immediately interrupted by a tiny, impossibly adorable, high-pitched voice. “We’re not coloring, Daddy,” explains his cherubic — and clearly, also famously focused — two-year-old daughter, Ava. “We’re drawing.”

“Sorry,” he replies to her with an apologetic tone familiar to dads of young daughters everywhere, and then, back to us: “We’re drawing.”

Call it a comeback

With Game 1 of the World Series drawing near, McCullers is taking a short break — a sort of quiet before the storm — as he lounges in his home office. Kicking back in a black T-shirt, black shorts, and a backwards hat, he’s just back from New York City, where he started Game 4 of the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees. McCullers helped the Astros dispatch the pinstriped rivals — and silence swarms of NYC trash talkers, who seem to perpetually live in 2017, in the process.

(Speaking of 2017 and the Yankees, McCullers’ epic save in Game 7 of the ALCS versus the Yankees — where he not only threw four shutout innings but also fired off an astounding 24 straight curveballs — is a YouTube must-watch for fans.)

Before his Yankees takedown, McCullers was crucial in the Astros’ tense showdown with the Seattle Mariners in Game 3 of the American League Division Series, which went to near historic 18 innings. Dominating the Mariners in front of a hostile crowd, he held the Mariners scoreless over six innings. With that seven-strikeout win, McCullers moved to second in Astros history for most postseason strikeouts — 69 — behind his white-hot, Cy-Young-Award-bound teammate Justin Verlander (who has 96).

Though he’s no stranger to World Series appearances, the veteran McCullers still feels a bit of newness in this year’s World Series run. “It feels similar but different in a way for me,” he says, “just because I was not here in ’19 — I was rehabbing for TJ [the serious Tommy John surgery that requires extensive rehab]. And then obviously last year, although I was very much part of the team — pitched the full season and pitched us through the ALDS.”

Astros Lance McCullers Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Pain — and gain

He’s referring to how he was forced to miss last year’s title run due to a nagging forearm injury, a flexor tendon strain that hounded him and nearly cost him this year, as well, with potential surgery looming. Far more afraid of letting his teammates down than any physical pain he’s endured, McCullers was forced to navigate the surreal purgatory in pro sports — injured, but still with the team.

“There's always a weird dynamic when you're not playing, but you’re still around,” he recalls. “Just because of the amount of time I’ve been here and how well I was pitching, there was just an assumed leadership role. So, you try to fill that leadership role still, even though you can’t play.”

Always one to shy away from credit and instead deflect to his teammates, McCullers recalls that one of the worst feelings was receiving what should have been a proud token, the 2021 American League Championship ring. Worse, he knew last year would be his final with dear friend and teammate Carlos Correa, who would later depart for the Minnesota Twins in free agency.

“Getting our rings this year from last year was one of the most bitter feelings,” he says. “I do believe that last year in particular, I could have made a huge difference. And then, you know, Carlos was here last year — and I was not here — and I knew he probably wasn't gonna come back. I really wanted to have that memory with him. So, when I got that ring, all those feelings kind of came back.”

Even the sports media and fan chatter claiming that the Astros would’ve taken home the title last year if McCullers had been active did little to help his feeling of loss. “It’s very flattering when people are like, ‘oh, if Lance would have been there, we would’ve won,” McCullers says. “It's a compliment to me, but a sad statement — all at the same time.”

Plagued by pain in his forearm (some caused by floating bone chips), weakness, and lack of movement in his elbow, McCullers endured an “aggressively slow” rehabilitation last year, receiving platelet therapy and more to avoid the dreaded knife that could spell the end of a season. Over months, he fought the persistent physical issues and doubts.

Just do it

After a game in June, he went home and told his wife Kara that he was sure he’d need surgery. Realizing he’d be operated on regardless of resting the arm or playing, he chose the latter. “I told her, ‘I’m just gonna stop worrying about it hurting. I’m gonna start throwing.

Resigned to facing another long surgery, McCullers was taken aback when he met with noted surgeon Keith Meister, who also operated on Verlander: “He said it was time to either have surgery or continue the rehab — and stop worrying about everything.

”Meister’s advice played perfectly to McCullers’ never-quit, mind-over-matter, do-the-thing mentality. “It's just like, just do it,” McCullers explains. “My body has to get on board. My mind’s made up. I’m doing it, and my body has to get on board.”

Get on board, it did. By summer, “things just kind of started getting better and better and better,” he recalls. “And gradually, it got to the point where by the end of June and early July … I was like, ‘man, I think we’re gonna make it. There was a drastic change in my mindset and in the way my body was responding.”

Beware of hungry dogs

McCullers has always been an unflinching spokesperson for the Astros, willing to take on anyone in defense of his team. He sees a common thread among his teammates who hail from wildly varying backgrounds.

Continue on CultureMap to learn more about the Astros incredible culture and facing Philly.

Most Popular

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome

Listen Live

ESPN Houston 97.5 FM
Gerrit Cole and Hunter Brown share the same agent now. Composite Getty Image.

There's no denying that this year's World Series champs (LA Dodgers) have some serious firepower on their roster. And one of the ways they were able to assemble such a talented team involved players like Shohei Ohtani being willing to differ their money.

Just this week, there was some speculation that the Yankees could do something similar when restructuring Gerrit Cole's contract, that would allow them more flexibility in the present.

The Yankees ended up calling Cole's bluff about opting out, and no adjustment was made to the contract.

But this situation got us thinking, would the Astros consider a tactic like this to maximize the roster? At this point, it doesn't seem all that likely. Just last year, the team handed out a $95 million contract to Josh Hader, without any differed money.

The other factor that also has to come into play is the tax threshold. The organization would have to give the okay to go over it again in order to make a splash signing this offseason. Which unfortunately does not sound like the plan right now when listening to GM Dana Brown at the Winter Meetings.

Astros pitcher hires a new agent

Now that MLB free agency is in full swing, most of the attention moving forward will be focused on players like Alex Bregman, Pete Alonso, and Juan Soto.

But for Astros fans, there might be someone else to keep an eye on this offseason and next. Starting pitcher Hunter Brown quietly hired super agent Scott Boras recently.

With Brown still another season away from his first year of arbitration, he should be with the Astros for the foreseeable future.

However, the hiring of Boras does raise some interesting questions. Why make the move now? Certainly, Brown could use some more cash, as he's set to make less than a million in 2025.

Perhaps Brown wants to land some HEB commercials to fatten his wallet. And if Bregman does leave the team in free agency, a spot will open up for another player, in theory. And three of the players in the HEB ads are represented by Boras (Jose Altuve, Lance McCullers Jr. and Bregman).

Jeremy Pena has been stacking cash from Taquerias Arandas for several years now, maybe Brown would like an opportunity to do an endorsement similar to that.

I say all this half kidding, but Brown does look like the future ace of this staff, and I'm sure there are plenty of advertisers that would have interest in Hunter.

There is another element that could have initiated the hiring of Boras. Would Brown be willing to sign an extension early with the Astros similar to the deal the team made with Cristian Javier?

Their situations are actually pretty comparable, except Javier was one year further into his career (3 years of MLB service time) and eligible for arbitration before agreeing to the extension.

If Brown was heading into arbitration this offseason, it wouldn't be surprising at all for the Astros to be considering a long-term deal with him that buys up all his arbitration years. The 'Stros love these types of contract extensions. We've seen them do it with Bregman, the aforementioned Javier, and others.

One of the main differences though between Brown and Javier is their rookie year numbers. Brown only pitched 20.1 innings in his first season (2022). While Javier pitched 54.1 innings his rookie year. However, his rookie season was in 2020, so Javier completed a full year of service time despite the shortened season. Whereas Brown didn't get called up until September 2022.

Another difference is performance. Javier never posted an ERA over 3.55 in his first three seasons. As opposed to Brown, who had a disastrous year in 2023. He made 29 starts, recording an ERA over 5.

It wasn't until May of 2024 that Brown started using his two-seam fastball with great success and becoming one of the most dominant pitchers in the American League.

The Astros had a bigger sample size to judge Javier. However, if Brown has another quality season in 2025, Houston and Brown should definitely be having conversations about an extension. Especially with Framber Valdez being in the final year of his contract in 2025. Hunter could be the unquestioned ace one year from now.

Still, though, there are some concerns with handing out these early extensions. For example, if the Astros had it to do over again, would they still extend Javier?

After receiving his extension before the 2023 season, he went on to post the highest ERA of his career (4.56), and then blew out his elbow in May 2024.

And if we're going by Luis Garcia's recovery timeline from Tommy John surgery, we may not see Javier pitch at all in 2025.

So even with a sample size of three terrific seasons, the Javier extension looks like a miss with the benefit of hindsight. It will be interesting to see if that deal impacts Dana Brown's decision-making going forward.

Especially since Javier was Dana's first big contract extension as the Astros GM.

Be sure to watch the video as we discuss how the Astros can get the most out of their roster, the pros and cons of signing Hunter Brown early, and much more!

*Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcasts. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo discuss varied Astros topics. The post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon. Find all via The SportsMap HOU YouTube channel or listen to episodes in their entirety at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

_______________

Fans of Houston sports and Houston food can now score tickets to The Tailgate, CultureMap's all-out party devoted to everyone’s favorite way to get in the gameday spirit. The event, presented by Verizon, goes down from 6-9 pm November 11 at 8th Wonder. Tickets are $75 for VIP and $50 for General Admission. For a limited time, we’re giving you $10 off; use code SPORTSMAP at checkout. Get your tickets now!

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome