BIG SPENDERS?

Difference in Astros, ALDS opponents is one you can actually put a price on

Difference in Astros, ALDS opponents is one you can actually put a price on
These ticket prices are shocking! Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images.

Just when baseball fans thought they’ve seen everything … the 2023 Houston Astros happened.

What a wild ride it’s been, so far, and it’s far from over.

I’ll have what Justin Verlander is having. After winning the Cy Young Award and getting his first World Series victory in 2022, he started this season by signing with the clown show New York Mets and becoming the highest-paid pitcher (tied with Max Scherzer) in history. Four months later, with the Mets under .500, he was traded back to the dynasty Astros where he’s likely slated to pitch the first game of the ALDS. Verlander keeps all his money with the Mets paying most of his Astros salary.

After spending most of 2023 in the unaccustomed and downright infuriating position of chasing the Texas Rangers, the Astros were crowned American League West champions on the last day of the season by running the table on the Arizona Diamondbacks while the Rangers pulled an historic El Foldo against the Mariners in Seattle. This was like you betting on red at roulette and it comes up red 10 times in a row, the stunning cocktail waitress has written her phone number on your napkin, and when you leave the table, you spot a $100 bill on the floor. The only person luckier would be Justin Verlander.

It was a rough ride and a long haul for the 2023 Astros for sure. First Jose Altuve broke his thumb in the World Baseball Classic, missed the Astros first 43 games, and was forced to film HEB commercials with his hand inside a potato chips bag. Then he suffered a couple more boo-boos, and barely played half of the Astros games. But since his return: three homers in one game, four in a row actually, hit for the cycle, 1,000th career run scored, 200th home run, 2,000th hit, 400th double, 35th four-hit game, two-times Player of the Week, and back in the playoffs for his eighth time.

Yordan Alvarez missed a third of the season and still scared opposing pitchers half to death. Michael Brantley, sidelined for more than a year with a shoulder injury, returned and his stroke was as sweet as ever. Kyle Tucker took his place as a bona fide superstar. Rookie Yanier Diaz blasted 23 homers as a backup catcher. Jose Abreu salvaged a disappointing season by going on an RBI tear in September and coming up huge in the final series against Arizona. Mauricio Dubon became super sub at second base and center field. J.P. France and Jose Urquidy rescued the Astros injury-ridden rotation.

The Astros may have finished with a losing record at home and 16 fewer wins overall from last year. But they don’t include won-loss records when they hang banners at Minute Maid Park. To sort of borrow from Raiders owner Al Davis, the Astros just won, baby.

Sure there was some frustration and in-house backbiting. What family doesn’t endure those? But when the dust cleared, the Astros are still standing, ready to defend their 2022 championship and the American League betting favorite to make another World Series.

That’s the Astros – a family, from the players, the coaches, and front office to the guy who pops the popcorn and the fans. This was the fifth season the Astros drew 3 million fans to Minute Maid Park. To put Houston’s passion for the Astros in perspective:

The Minnesota Twins are hosting the Toronto Blue Jays in a wild card series. The Twins cruised to the post-season by winning the American League Central by nine games over the second-place Detroit Tigers. Playoff fever should be sweeping Minneapolis, and the Twins must be the hottest ticket in town, right?

Photo by Ken Hoffman

Not exactly. You can buy tickets, guaranteed to be seated together, to the Twins-Blue Jays series on the secondary market for $6 each. That’s well below face value. Tickets for the Rangers-Rays series in Tampa are going as low as $22.

The cheapest secondary market tickets for Astros Division Series games at Minute Maid Park are $60, and that’s for standing room only.

Astros home attendance this year also was tops for any American League team in the post-season – more than twice the number of fans that attended Rays home games at Tropicana Field. The other two American League division champs, Baltimore and Minnesota, both failed to draw 2 million fans.

Consider the poor Texas Rangers, at least pretend you care. Instead of getting a bye, they had to fly from Seattle to Tampa for their wild card showdown against the Rays. That’s a leg-cramping, 5-hour, 2,520-mile flight. (Note: despite announcers and radio hosts insisting that’s the longest flight in MLB, actually it’s the second-longest. Seattle to Miami is 204 miles farther.)

If you do want to care for the truly mistreated, consider the Astros TV team of Todd Kalas, Geoff Blum and Julia Morales. They toil for the entire season with the Astros, but when dessert (the playoffs) arrives, they’re told to go sit in the living room. Fox and FS1 will broadcast the American League Division Series, League Championship Series and World Series. You know what that means. TV on, sound off, Robert Ford and Steve Sparks radio on.

At least Kalas and company will do post-game shows for the first time on the Astros new TV outlet, Space City Home Network. Journalism question: like X (formerly known as Twitter), how long do we have to write Space City Home Network (formerly known as AT&T SportsNet Southwest)?

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How all signs point to Astros having another gear to hit

Jeremy Pena and Isaac Paredes have been the Astros' best hitters. Composite Getty Image.

It’s May 1, and the Astros are turning heads—but not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.

Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starter—he’s never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, he’s slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.

What’s more troubling than the overall dip is when it’s happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outs—.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In “late and close” situations, when the pressure’s highest, he’s practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.

His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.

The contrast couldn’t be clearer when you look at José Altuve—long the engine of this franchise—who, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squad—but someone else may yet step into that role.

And yet—the Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.

Houston’s offense, in general, hasn’t lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). They’re 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.

But where there’s been light, it hasn’t come from the usual spots. Jeremy Peña, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the team’s highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. Peña’s balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.

Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.

And then there’s the pitching—Houston’s anchor. The rotation and bullpen have been elite, ranking 5th in ERA (3.23), 1st in WHIP (1.08), and 4th in batting average against (.212). In a season where offense is lagging and clutch hits are rare, the arms have made all the difference.

For now, it’s the unexpected contributors keeping Houston afloat. Peña’s emergence. A rock-solid pitching staff. Role players stepping up in quiet but crucial ways. They’re not dominating, but they’re grinding—and in a sluggish AL West, that may be enough.

Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesn’t, the turnaround we’re witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, that’s the story that needed to be written.

We have so much more to discuss. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!

The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday!

*ChatGPT assisted.

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