Plus: These World Series artifacts are off in Cooperstown
The Astros are no strangers to having a short offseason in recent years, and when you play your final game on Nov. 5 – the date the Astros beat the Phillies in Game 6 to win the World Series – the start of Spring Training comes fast. With that, it's time to look ahead to 2023 with some predictions for the defending World Series champions.
1. The Astros will repeat as World Series champs
There, I said it. The Astros will win the 2023 World Series to become the first team to repeat as champions since the Yankees won three in a row from 1998-2000. So far this offseason, the Astros have added slugger José Abreu in free agency, brought back the steady Michael Brantley and lost Cy Young winner Justin Verlander, but starting pitching was a position of strength.
The Astros, as talented as they were, had a lot of things go right last season, including the emergence of an impact rookie in shortstop Jeremy Peña, a bounce-back season from Alex Bregman and they had a pitching staff that stayed largely healthy throughout the season. They'll need their younger core players to continue to develop while remaining off the injured list. In 2018, the Astros' bid to repeat was, in part, derailed when Jose Altuve and Lance McCullers Jr. suffered injuries.
So, who's their biggest competition? The Yankees kept Aaron Judge and added pitcher Carlos Rodón and should be Houston's biggest AL threat once again. In the division, the Mariners (addition of Teoscar Hernandez and Kolten Wong and full season of Luis Castillo) and Rangers (addition Jacob deGrom) have improved, but the Astros won the AL West last season by 16 games, so there's a huge gap. The rest of baseball won't catch up, either. The Astros will win the 2023 World Series.
2. An Astros player will win the MVP
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Jeff Bagwell (1994 in the NL) and Altuve (2017 in the AL) are the only Astros players to win a Most Valuable Player Award, though Bregman came a few votes shy in 2019 and Yordan Alvarez finished third last season behind Judge and Shohei Ohtani.
Making this kind of proclamation is going out on a limb, considering Ohtani is the best player in the game, Judge will be back in pinstripes next season after hitting 62 homers in 2022 and Rookie of the Year Julio Rodríguez leads Seattle. Still, Bregman's terrific second half in 2022, Alvarez's and Kyle Tucker's emergence as All-Stars and Peña's postseason moxie give the Astros four hopefuls for an MVP in 2023. And one of them will win in.
3. Cristian Javier will AL ERA title |
Javier's days as a swingman should be over in 2023. He should be in the rotation on Opening Day and will blossom into one of the top starters in the AL, if he isn't there already. Javier made 25 starts and five relief appearances last season, posting a 2.54 ERA in the regular season and 0.71 in the postseason, including two starts in which he gave up a combined one hit and no runs in 11 1/3 innings.
Javier, who started the Game 4 no-hitter against the Phillies in the World Series, has some of the best stuff in baseball with his "invisi-ball" fastball and sweeping slider. Among pitchers to throw at least 300 innings in the last three seasons, his .178 opponents' batting average is the lowest by any pitcher. His time is now. | The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum will celebrate the Astros' 2022 World Series championship through Autumn Glory, the museum's tribute to the postseason in Cooperstown. The display honoring the 2022 champs will be open through the end of the 2023 postseason and is included with museum admission.
After the Astros won Game 6 of the World Series to beat the Phillies, the Hall of Fame acquired several artifacts from the Astros, who notched the franchise's second Fall Classic crown in six seasons. Artifacts donated by the Astros and featured in the exhibit celebrating the 2022 postseason include:
• Jersey worn by World Series MVP Peña during Game 1.
• Game 2 jersey, wristbands and box of toothpicks from Astros manager Dusty Baker.
• Glove used by outfielder Chas McCormick when he made a game-saving catch in Game 5.
• Spikes worn by Verlander in Game 5 when he won his first career World Series start.
• Spikes worn by closer Ryan Pressly when he closed out the clinching Game 6.
• Ball thrown by Javier from Game 4 combined no-hitter and signed by all four Astros pitchers as well as catcher Christian Vázquez.
• Scorecard kept by Hall of Famer and FOX broadcaster John Smoltz during Game 4 combined no-hitter.
The Museum collections contain many artifacts documenting the entire history of World Series and postseason play, including Don Larsen's cap and Yogi Berra's mitt from Larsen's 1956 perfect game; Joe Carter's bat from his Series-ending blast in 1993; the jersey David Freese wore when he hit his game-winning home run in Game 6 in 2011; and World Series rings from the last century of Fall Classic competition. | |
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Not surprisingly, the Astros will be heavily represented at the Jan. 25 Houston Sports Awards, which will be hosted by Bregman, who's one of four nominees for Athlete of the Year with Peña, Alvarez and Verlander, who signed with the Mets.
Baker is a finalist for Coach of the Year after winning his first World Series title, and Altuve will receive the Sportsmanship Award. Astros owner Jim Crane will receive the Executive of the Year Award.
When it comes to Moment of the Year, three of the four finalists are products of the Astros, led by the World Series win over the Phillies. Alvarez's postseason homers – capped by his 450-foot game-winner in Game 6 of the World Series – are also among the Moment of the Year nominees, along with McCormick's catch in Game 5 of the World Series. |
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