With the Astros arriving at spring training, fans are starting to get hyped for the upcoming season and the Opening Day matchup against the Yankees.

In fact, fans are so excited this season that Bob Nightengale is reporting the Astros have already hit a franchise-record for ticket sales (22,000).

Pretty incredible to think there's more anticipation for this season than last year, when the club was coming off a World Series win.

Which got us thinking, why is that?

Some fans may see this year as a last hurrah, with Alex Bregman likely to leave in free agency. Not to mention Kyle Tucker, Framber Valdez, and Justin Verlander could be gone the following year.

Which also means this could be the Astros best chance to seal their dynasty with a third championship.

Another reason fans may not have been as excited for the 2023 season could have to do with the revenge tour the Astros were on to win another championship after their 2017 title was called into question. The Astros finished the deal in 2022, so that could have taken some juice out of last offseason. They slayed the dragon.

One thing is for sure, fans have to be happy this offseason with Jim Crane going over the competitive balance tax threshold by signing Josh Hader to a 5-year $95 million contract. Locking up Jose Altuve for the rest of his career certainly plays a role too.

Certainly this is a better look from ownership, as last season Crane fired GM James Click after the World Series and operated without a GM for much of the offseason. Rumors of Brad Ausmus or Jeff Bagwell becoming the next GM also had fans concerned.

Finally, having a true villain in the division could be drawing more interest with a legit rivalry between the Astros and now World Series champion Texas Rangers.

Or could it be something else?

Be sure to watch the video above as we share more thoughts on why the Astros have seen a spike in ticket sales for 2024 and much more!

Don't miss Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel.