GROUP THINK
How Hall of Fame advisors could impact the Houston Astros front office moving forward
Nov 16, 2022, 12:01 pm
Should Jeff Bagwell or Reggie Jackson be key voices in the Houston Astros front office?
ESPN's Jeff Passan took us behind the curtains of the Houston Astros front office in an article released Tuesday morning. You can read it here: https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/stor...
Reading said piece, I was struck by a few things, like this quote which made me laugh: Though James Click wasn't indecisive, he did not preen about with what one person deemed Luhnow's “institutional arrogance,” which Jim Crane actually thought was an admirable thing.
But more than anything, the realization that Jeff Bagwell & Reggie Jackson have major roles in the Astros front office concerns me.
Crane, sources said, felt coming into the 2022 season that the team needed more “baseball men” involved in operations decisions and invited Hall of Famers Jeff Bagwell and Reggie Jackson into the team's weekly senior baseball-operations meetings.
So why is this a concern? Having too much influence from the ex-player realm could lead to a lot of gut reaction, shoot from the hip, and “trust me, I know because I played the game” thinking. Ideally, you want to balance the former player mindset, with modern analytics because a lot of things have changed in the past 15 years. Plus, we know James Click is no longer providing that analytical feedback, and they still haven't hired a GM to replace him.
At the end of the day, what they're doing is obviously working. Hopefully, they will continue to have that balance that's made them so successful.
Be sure to check out the video above for the full breakdown.
Listen live to the Paul Gallant Show every weekday 10—noon CT on ESPN 97.5 & 92.5 Houston.
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Oswald Peraza hit a two-run single in the ninth inning to help the Los Angeles Angels snap a three-game losing skid by beating the Houston Astros 4-1 on Saturday night.
Peraza entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning and hit a bases-loaded fly ball to deep right field that eluded the outstretched glove of Cam Smith. It was the fourth straight hit off Astros closer Bryan Abreu (3-4), who had not allowed a run in his previous 12 appearances.
The Angels third run of the ninth inning scored when Mike Trout walked with the bases loaded.
Kyle Hendricks allowed one run while scattering seven hits over six innings. He held the Astros to 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, the one hit coming on Jesús Sánchez’s third-inning infield single that scored Jeremy Peña.
Reid Detmers worked around a leadoff walk to keep the Astros scoreless in the seventh, and José Fermin (3-2) retired the side in order in the eighth before Kenley Jansen worked a scoreless ninth to earn his 24th save.
Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti struck out a season-high eight batters over 6 1/3 innings. The only hit he allowed was Zach Neto’s third-inning solo home run.
Yordan Alvarez had two hits for the Astros, who remained three games ahead of Seattle for first place in the AL West.
Key moment
Peraza’s two-run single to deep right field that broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth.
Key Stat
Opponents were 5 for 44 against Abreu in August before he allowed four straight hits in the ninth.
Up next
Astros RHP Hunter Brown (10-6, 2.37 ERA) faces RHP José Soriano (9-9, 3.85) when the series continues Sunday.