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Here's your comprehensive 2023 Houston Astros season primer
Feb 14, 2023, 4:29 pm
It's that time of year again! Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images
What the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson meant to say, or at least should have said, was … “in the spring training, a young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of baseball.”
It seems like only yesterday that Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker was racing into foul territory down the right field line and snaring Nick Castellanos’ pop fly to clinch the 2022 World Series title. Time sure flies when you’re picking up trophies and celebrating another championship because …
In two short days, Astros pitchers and catchers report to the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches for spring training and another season of wrecking the American League. Wow, that was fast.
Position players report for duty next week and the Astros first spring training game is Feb. 25 against, thank you Mr. Schedule Maker, the New York Mets. You know the Mets, the team that Justin Verlander left the Astros for $86 million of fool’s gold. More precisely, one fool’s gold. How’s that song go? Money can’t buy you love. Or a World Series ring.
The spring training opener will be televised on AT&T SportsNet SW. First pitch is 12:05 p.m. Houston time. AT&T SportsNet will air several spring games, including March 8 against Team Venezuela. The entire Astros TV crew is back: Todd Kalas, Geoff Blum and Julia Morales.
The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, 5454 Haverhill Road in West Palm Beach, Fla., is home to both the Astros and the Washington Nationals for spring training. The stadium will be even-Steven this year: the Astros finished 2022 with the World Series title and best record in the American League (106-56), while the Nationals were dead last in the National League (55-107). If you’re going to a game in West Palm, you might want to check the schedule to make sure you get an Astros day.
Spring training used to be a bargain for fans and families who were in Florida on spring break. Not so much anymore. Depending on the opponent, Astros tickets on the secondary market can range from $36 for the Banana Boat Lawn to as high as $151 behind home plate. This isn’t your grandfather’s spring training anymore.
This should be the calmest and most carefree spring training for the Astros. No one can deny they are the best team in MLB with their second World Series championship in six years and multiple World Series and League Championship Series appearances during that span. Their legacy is unchallenged.
The roster is pretty much set, with their last slot appearing to be filled by Matt Gage. Manager Dusty Baker is back to turn toothpicks into splinters and All-Star Jose Abreu joins the fold for another charge to the World Series. All is good, and under budget, in Astros World.
The Astros have a new general manager this season, Dana Brown. Let’s describe his job, at least for the near future, this way: he’s driving a Tesla.
Here are the rules if you’re attending a spring training hoping to have Jose Altuve sign your Astros cap. MLB dictates no autographs during a game, even if Altuve is done after three innings and heading to the clubhouse. Better to show up before the game and catch your favorite player at a practice field outside the stadium.
The Astros will play 28 pre-season games, wrapping up their Florida stay against the Cardinals on March 26, before heading north (technically north by northwest) for their first game of the 2023 season March 30 against the White Sox at Minute Maid Park.
The Astros need to beat the Pale Hose that night or they won’t be able to sell beer the rest of the season. (They will have lost the opener - thank you Highlights Magazine in my dentist’s office.)
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Nick Chubb didn’t expect to be a Houston Texan. At least, not until he got the call on a quiet Saturday at home and was on a flight the next day. It happened fast — too fast, even, for the four-time Pro Bowler to fully process what it all meant. But now that he’s here, it’s clear this wasn’t a random landing spot. This was a calculated leap, one Chubb had been quietly considering from afar.
The reasons he chose Houston speak volumes not only about where Chubb is in his own career, but where the Texans are as a franchise.
For one, Chubb saw what the rest of the league saw the last two seasons: a young team turning the corner. He admired the Texans from a distance — the culture shift under head coach DeMeco Ryans, the explosive rise of C.J. Stroud, and the physical tone set by players like Joe Mixon. That identity clicked with Chubb. He’d been a fan of Ryans for years, and once he got in the building, everything aligned.
“I came here and saw a bunch of guys who like to work and not talk,” Chubb said. “And I realized I'm a perfect fit.”
As for his health, Chubb isn’t running from the injuries that cost him parts of the past two seasons, he’s owning them. But now, he says, they’re behind him. After a full offseason of training the way he always has — hitting his speed and strength benchmarks — Chubb says he’s feeling the best he has in years. He’s quick to remind people that bouncing back from major injuries, especially the one he suffered in 2023, is rarely a one-year journey. It takes time. He’s given it time.
Then there’s his fit with Mixon. The two aren’t just stylistic complements, they go way back. Same recruiting class, same reputation for running hard, same respect for each other’s games. Chubb remembers dreading matchups against the Bengals in Cleveland, worrying Mixon would take over the game. Now, he sees the opportunity in pairing up. “It’ll be us kinda doing that back-to-back against other defenses,” he said.
He’s also well aware of what C.J. Stroud brings to the table. Chubb watched Stroud nearly dismantle Georgia in the College Football Playoff. Then he saw it again, up close, when Stroud lit up the Browns in the postseason. “He torched us again,” Chubb said. Now, he gets to run alongside him, not against him.
Stroud made a point to welcome Chubb, exchanging numbers and offering support. It may seem like a small thing, but it’s the kind of leadership that helped sell Chubb on the Texans as more than just a good football fit — it’s a good locker room fit, too.
It appears the decision to come to Houston wasn’t part of some master plan. But in retrospect, it makes perfect sense. Chubb is a player with a no-nonsense work ethic, recovering from adversity, looking to write the next chapter of a career that’s far from over. And the Texans? They’re a team on the rise, built around guys who want to do the same.
You can watch the full interview in the video below.
And for those wondering how Joe Mixon feels about Nick Chubb, check out this video from last season. Let's just say he's a fan.
I’ve seen some speculation indicating that Joe Mixon may not be happy the Texans signed Nick Chubb. If that is what you believe, watch this clip from an interview with @greenlight pod last year & get back to me. pic.twitter.com/3vaip85esj
— Houston Stressans (@TexansCommenter) June 11, 2025
*ChatGPT assisted.
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