How did the Astros get here?

A little backstory:

When I was 4 years old, my family moved to the Houston area. Around that same time, I was signed up for my first season of tee ball. Little did I know at the time that those two events coinciding would end up morphing into one of my passions, and creating one of the greatest memories of my relatively short time on Earth on November 1, 2017.

On Wednesday, the Houston Astros won their first World Series championship in franchise history. From the Colt .45's, and then after years of not being able to advance in the playoffs in their awesome rainbow jerseys, and then after the glory years of the Killer B’s who would influence my generation of kids playing baseball in Houston, and then after years of mediocrity, and then after years of the worst baseball you’ve ever seen, it finally happened. Let’s take a little trip down memory lane to find out how the Houston Astros came to be known as World Champions.

October 22, 2005

After getting over the hump of the division rival St. Louis Cardinals, the Astros play in their first ever World Series game against the Chicago White Sox, which they lose 5-3.

October 26, 2005

In the ultimate pitching duel, on a staff that included Roger Clemens, Andy Pettite and Roy Oswalt, Brandon Backe of all people holds the White Sox to zero runs over seven innings, but Brad Lidge gives up the winning run in the 8th inning, and that was all the White Sox needed to sweep the Astros. This will be the last time they see the playoffs for quite some time.

November 24, 2006

After a disappointing 2006 season, missing the playoffs with essentially the same team as 2005, the pitching staff loses Clemens and Pettite so the team decides to counter by adding offense to complement Lance Berkman. Carlos Lee signs a six-year contract worth $100 million. To this day, it is still the largest contract issued by the Astros. This shows that the front office still wants to remain competitive with outside veterans, which makes sense because they have the 20th ranked farm system in baseball.

December 16, 2006 & July 24, 2008

Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio announce their retirements (respectively).  Bagwell and Biggio were two-thirds of the Killer B’s, and whether it was replicating Bagwell’s wide batting stance or not being afraid to get hit by a pitch because Biggio wasn’t, they were the favorite players of every kid in Houston. While Biggio would finish the rest of his season, this is the dusk in what would be the darkest night Houston baseball will have ever seen.

June 9, 2009

In the seventh round of the draft, the Astros select Dallas Keuchel, a pitcher out of Arkansas. The old regime did something very good, probably by accident.

April 1, 2010

Baseball America releases its annual Organization Talent Rankings, which ranks every team’s farm system talent. It is a benchmark to guess how teams will not only do in the immediate future, but around five years later as well. The Astros are ranked dead last at 30. Their top prospects are Jason Castro and Jiovanni Mier. It is abundantly clear that the future isn't very bright.

July 29, 2010

With a record of 41-59, and out of contention for a playoff spot yet again, Roy Oswalt is traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Anthony Gose, J.A. Happ and Jonathan Villar. The front office finally realizes that it needs to trade its veterans in order to bolster the farm system. After being one of the premier aces in baseball since his rookie year in 2001, Astros fans have to say goodbye to one of their first homegrown stars of the 21st century.

July 31, 2010

Two days later, Lance Berkman is traded to the New York Yankees for Mark Melancon and Jimmy Paredes. Houston fans don’t even have time to mourn the loss of Oswalt before arguably a bigger fan favorite is traded to villainous Yankees.

May 16, 2011

Jim Crane purchases the Houston Astros from former owner, Drayton McLane, for $680 million. A couple of things happen with this sale: beginning in 2013, the Astros have to move to the American League West after spending their entirety in the National League. This evens both leagues at 15 teams, and all divisions with 5 teams. The Astros also created a new deal with the Houston Rockets to create a regional sports network.

June 6, 2011

George Springer, a center fielder from the University of Connecticut, is drafted 11th overall. The first decent draft pick the team has made in years. In his second year in the minor leagues, he hits 37 home runs and steals 45 bases. He looks like the future face of the franchise.

July 20, 2011

A 5’6” second baseman makes his MLB debut. The majority of baseball thinks it’s a publicity stunt. Jose Altuve on the other hand, knows that one day he'll be a potential MVP.

July 29, 2011

Hunter Pence is traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Jarred Cosart, Jon Singleton, Josh Zeid and a player to be named later (Domingo Santana). This trade alone no longer makes the farm system the laughing stock of baseball.

September 28, 2011

The Astros lose to the St. Louis Cardinals 8-0. They finish the season 56-106, setting a franchise record for losses in a season. They have the worst record in baseball, and will have the first pick in the 2012 draft.

December 7, 2011

Jeff Luhnow is hired as the new General Manager. After spending the last 8 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals as a vice president, Luhnow oversaw the Cardinals’ drafting where their farm system became consistently one of the best in baseball. He announces a plan to “tank” where the team will stockpile prospects to bring some youth into the organization.

December 8, 2011

Jeff Luhnow makes his first move as General Manager during the rule 5 draft. Marco Duarte is traded to the Boston Red Sox for Marwin Gonzalez. He makes his debut on April 6, 2012.

June 4, 2012

With the first overall pick in the draft, the Astros select Carlos Correa, a shortstop from Puerto Rico. With the 41st pick, they select Lance McCullers, a high school pitcher from Tampa, Florida. They finally have a top-tier farm system, as Baseball America finally puts them inside their top 10 before the 2013 season.

July 20, 2012

J.A. Happ, Brandon Lyon, and David Carpenter are traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for Joe Musgrove, Francisco Cordero, Ben Francisco, Carlos Perez, David Rollins, Kevin Comer and Asher Wojciechowski. Still looking to increase the talent in the farm system, Luhnow looks at quantity as well as quality. Surely one of these guys will stick.

October 3, 2012

For the second straight season, Houston finishes with the worst record in baseball with a 55-107 record. They break the franchise record for losses that they set the year before. This is their last game as a member of the National League.

February 4, 2013

Jed Lowrie and Fernando Rodriguez are traded to the Oakland Athletics for Brad Peacock, Chris Carter and Max Stassi. Carter is the big return here, as his power would theoretically take advantage of the short Crawford Boxes down the left field line.

March 31, 2013

Under the helm of new manager, Bo Porter, the Astros play their first game as a member of the American League and beat their new division rival, Texas Rangers, 8-2. It goes downhill from there.

September 29, 2013

The Yankees beat the Astros 5-1. It’s the same story, but a different verse, a much worse verse as Houston finished with the worst record in baseball again at 51-111. For the third year in a row, they set a franchise record for losses in a season.

December 18, 2013

Colin McHugh is signed off waivers from the New York Mets. The front office cites his spin rate on his curveball was the main reason they like him.

June 5, 2014

For the third year in a row, Houston has the first overall pick. They select Brady Aiken, a left handed high school pitcher from San Diego, California. The first ever high school left handed pitcher selected with the number one overall pick. In the middle of negotiations, doctors flag something wrong with his pitching elbow. The Astros lower their offer, but Aiken rejects it. At the time, it caused a domino effect, not allowing the team to sign multiple of their picks that year. However, this also gives them the second pick in the 2015 draft, regardless of their record. *Aiken proceeded to tear his UCL the next year and need Tommy John surgery* With the 37th pick, they select Derek Fisher, an outfielder from the University of Virginia.

September 29, 2014

AJ Hinch is named manager of the Astros. Bo Porter did not make it through the end of the season before he was fired after disagreements on how to use the analytics the front office gave him. Luhnow wanted to find someone that knew how to use analytics to help the team perform on the field. Hinch, with his past as both a player, and in the front office, was the perfect candidate.

November 3, 2014

Will Harris is signed off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks. He looks to get a spot in the bullpen during spring training.

December 12, 2014

One of the first players signed to a multi-year deal by Luhnow is Luke Gregerson. He comes in to be the new closer. The three year deal shows that Luhnow is ready to compete. The Astros may not win this year, but within the next three.

January 14, 2015

Rio Ruiz, Mike Foltynewicz and Andrew Thurman are traded to the Atlanta Braves for Evan Gattis and James Hoyt. Gattis has country strong power, and should take advantage of the Crawford Boxes to put up career numbers, especially as a DH now instead of having to play left field or catch.

June 8, 2015

Oh boy, what a day in Houston Astros baseball history. Two things of importance happen on this day. 1) With a 34-25 record over a third of the way through the season, it appears the Astros’ losing ways could be behind them, but the offense is sputtering and needs a spark before the dog days of summer bring the team back to Earth. The solution? Number one prospect in baseball, Carlos Correa, makes his Major League debut against the Chicago White Sox. He gets his first hit as an infield single. But the story is that Jeff Luhnow realizes that his five year plan came to fruition a year early and decided to run with it. 2) This is also the day of the MLB draft. For the first time ever, a team has two top five selections. It’s the Astros, due to the negotiation snafu with Aiken the year before. With the second selection, they pick Alex Bregman, a shortstop from Louisiana State University. With the fifth selection, they pick Kyle Tucker, a high school outfielder from Tampa, Florida, and brother to current Astro Preston Tucker.

July 30, 2015

Josh Hader, Domingo Santana, Adrian Houser and Brett Phillips are traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers. Luhnow makes his first splash as general manager. Until this point, he has stayed away from making any trades for Major League talent or signing any big name free agents. But at this point in the season, they’re 58-45 with a very real possibility of making the playoffs for the first time in 10 years.

October 6, 2015

Houston beats the Yankees 3-0 in the American League Wild Card Game. Winning their first playoff game since the 2005 NLCS. Dallas Keuchel tosses a gem, while Gomez and Colby Rasmus both hit home runs in the victory.

October 14, 2015

Two days after losing a four run lead in the 8th inning in game 4 of the ALDS, which would have sent the Astros to the ALCS, they lose to the Kansas City Royals 7-2 in game 5. This ends their season at the hands of the eventual World Series champions, but all of baseball is put on notice. Houston is no longer here to dwell in the cellar, they’re here to win. The future is here.

December 12, 2015

Vince Velasquez, Brett Oberholtzer, Thomas Eshelman, Harold Arauz and Mark Appel are traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Ken Giles and Jonathan Arauz (not related to Harold). After the heartbreak of game 4, the Astros realize they need help in the bullpen so they get the young flamethrower. Luhnow obviously is over hoarding prospects after trading away the former number one overall pick, Appel, even if he was struggling in the minors.

July 16, 2016

As the trade deadline rolls around, Luhnow is oddly quiet compared to the year before, even though they are only a few games back of the Texas Rangers for the AL West lead. The reason he was quiet on the trade blocks, he was busy signing Cuban legend, Yuli Gurriel. He makes his debut on August 21, 2016 after getting used to playing ball in the states in the minor leagues.

October 2, 2016

After an 8-1 loss to the Los Angeles Angels, the Astros finish with an 84-78 record and miss the postseason. It seems like such a disappointment after they exceeded expectations the year before. As the season progressed, new weapons were brought to the fold, mainly Chris Devenski out of the bullpen and Alex Bregman making his debut.

November 16, 17 & 23, 2016 & December 5, 2016

After the 2016 season proves that maybe the team is too young, the front office looks to add more veterans to the locker room in the offseason. They kick it off by signing Charlie Morton to a two year deal. Morton seems like an odd choice due to the fact that he isn’t the ace most analysts think that the Astros would pursue. But he is a ground ball pitcher and the front office and their analytics love ground balls, so in that case it makes sense. Nobody knew that his fastball would jump four miles an hour. The next day, they trade Albert Abreu and Jorge Guzman for Brian McCann. After years of Jason Castro not being able to produce offensively, they grab McCann from the Yankees when they decide they would rather start Gary Sanchez. They then sign Josh Reddick to man right field and push George Springer back to his natural position, center field. Reddick is a left handed bat in the outfield that they are desperately looking for. To cap off one of the busiest offseasons Luhnow and company have been a part of, they sign Carlos Beltran away from the rival Rangers. The new veteran left handed bats should complement the young core of right handed sluggers quite nicely.  

July 31, 2017

The Astros come into the year’s trade deadline with a 69-36 record. They have the AL West all but wrapped up. However All-Stars, Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers are on the DL and it looks like they could use another front line starter for the playoffs incase they aren’t at full strength. With many starters on the trade block, Luhnow trades away Nori Aoki and Teoscar Hernandez for former All-Star (in 2006), Fransisco Liriano. He isn’t exactly the splash fans, or the team, were hoping for. He wasn’t even traded for to start, but to be a left handed specialist out of the bullpen.

August 25, 2017

While the team is on the road in Los Angeles facing the Angels, Hurricane Harvey hits southeast Texas. It is the first major hurricane (category 3 or higher) to hit land since 2005. It leaves the greater Houston area and surrounding communities destroyed in its path. The Astros are forced to play their next home series in Tampa Bay. The team rallies with the community, giving them something to root for. Even if it doesn’t exactly help their situation, maybe it can bring them a little joy and happiness along the way.

August 31, 2017 Noon-ish

Cameron Maybin is signed off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels. He is tied with Jose Altuve for the American League lead in stolen bases. With Jake Marisnick on the disabled list, he is added as a fourth outfielder, and to be a pinch runner when the playoffs come around.

August 31, 2017 11:59:58 PM

Daz Cameron, Franklin Perez and Jake Rodgers are traded to the Detroit Tigers for Justin Verlander and Juan Ramirez, two seconds before the deadline to add players that are eligible for a team’s playoff roster. It is the biggest trade Luhnow has made since he’s been in Houston. The Astros have their ace.

September 17, 2017

After a 7-1 win over the Seattle Mariners, the Houston Astros clinch their first AL West division title. It is their first division title, overall, since winning the NL Central in 1999. Who pitched this game? That would be AJ Hinch’s new toy, Justin Verlander.

October 5, 2017

Jose Altuve is mad that there is even an argument against him for AL MVP and hits three home runs in a 8-2 route against Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox in game one of the ALDS. Alex Bregman also homers, and Verlander picks up the win.

October 9, 2017

Verlander picks up his second win of the series, in relief this time though, as the Astros close out the Red Sox in game 4. Bregman hits another home run off of Chris Sale in the 8th inning to tie the game, and Josh Reddick hits the go ahead single off Craig Kimbrel.

October 14, 2017

Verlander dominates again, but this time against the Yankees in the ALCS. It is a pitchers duel the whole way, until Houston scratches two hits off of Aroldis Chapman in the bottom of the 9th. Altuve stayed hot with a single, and Carlos Correa drove him in with a double in the right center gap. The throw beat Altuve home, but Sanchez (the one the Yankees chose over McCann) dropped the ball as it skipped home.

October 21, 2017

Charlie Morton and Lance McCullers were all the hands needed in an “all hands on deck” approach in game 7 against the Yankees. They combined for the shutout, while Evan Gattis and Altuve homer. The Astros are going to the World Series for the first time since 2005.

October 25, 2017

After losing game one, Verlander was up to his tricks again. He threw 6 innings of almost perfect baseball. Unfortunately one bad pitch, and one good piece of hitting lead to two home runs to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 3-1 lead. The Dodgers bring in Kenley Jansen, the best relief pitcher in the National League in the 8th inning to protect the 3-1 lead, but an RBI by Correa in the 8th and a home run by Marwin Gonzalez in the 9th tie the game. That is only the beginning of the madness. Former Astro, Josh Fields, comes in to start the 10th inning for the Dodgers. He gives up back to back home runs to Altuve and Correa to start the inning and is taken out. Yasiel Puig cuts the lead to one after a home run in the bottom of the inning, and another former Astro, Kike Hernandez ties the game with a single off Ken Giles through the right side. Cameron Maybin gets the top of the 11th started with a single, and proceeds to steal second base, becoming the favorite player in America as he won the country free tacos from Taco Bell. The next batter is George Springer, who cranks a two run home run, and that was only the beginning for him in this World Series. After Charlie Culberson hit a home run off Chris Devenski in the bottom of the inning, it seemed like the game would never end until Puig strikes out to end the game. It’s the best game I’ve ever seen in my life. The Astros win their first World Series game in franchise history.

October 29, 2017

Oh did I say that game 2 was the best game I’ve ever seen in my life? It didn’t take long for that to be topped. Game 5 was expected to be a pitchers duel with Dallas Keuchel facing off against Clayton Kershaw, but it was more like a home run derby. Keuchel can’t make it out of the 4th inning after giving up 4 runs. Yuli Gurriel ties the game in the bottom of the 4th with a home run off Kershaw. After setting a NL rookie record in the regular season, Cody Bellinger finally gets going in the World Series with a three run home run off of Colin McHugh in the 5th. Altuve calls him in the bottom of the inning with a shot of his own. It’s tied 7-7 after 5 and there have been multiple 3 run comebacks by the Astros. After attempting a diving play in center that led to a run in the top of the 7th, Springer redeems himself with a monster home run off of Brandon Morrow in the bottom of the inning. Bregman follows with a single, Altuve scores him with a double, and Correa chases Morrow out of the game with a two run home run into the Crawford Boxes that would only be a home run in Minute Maid Park. In all of the madness of the comebacks early in the game, the Astros finally have the lead. The Dodgers chip away with an RBI double by Corey Seager in the 8th, but Brian McCann gets the run right back in the bottom of the inning. With no trust in Giles to close the game, Hinch sticks with Devenski. He fools Puig with a changeup, but with a flick of the wrist, Puig is able to push it into the Crawford Boxes for a two run home run. It doesn’t take long for Chris Taylor to tie the game with an RBI single. Here we go again, another endless game. Kenley Jansen comes in to preserve the tie in the 10th. With two outs, he hits McCann and walks Springer. As Derek Fisher pinch runs for McCann, Bregman hits him in with a soft liner over shortstop. Comeback(s) complete. The Astros have a 3-2 lead in the series, and have to win one more in Los Angeles.

November 1, 2017

The greatest words in sports: Game 7. Houston gets off to a fast start in the first, scoring two runs on ground balls to first base. Even Lance McCullers gets in on the action with an RBI in the second, and Springer follows with a laser to left center to wrap up his amazing World Series. After two innings, it’s 5-0 Astros, and that’s all they needed. McCullers struggles with his command on the mound, but is able to get out of a few jams. Brad Peacock, Francisco Liriano, Chris Devenski and Charlie Morton wrap up the rest of the game. Morton was so lights out that Hinch leaves him in to bat for himself just to look at three straight strikes. He gets Corey Seager to ground out to Altuve for the last out of the 2017 season, and the Houston Astros are World Champs.

It’s been a long road for the Houston Astros. Coming into the season, the social media hashtag for the team account was #EarnIt, and that’s exactly what they did. They earned it. As a fan base, we had to endure years of just terrible baseball, but there was always the light at the end of the tunnel with Springer, Correa and Altuve, and now they’re out of the tunnel with a World Series trophy on the train with them. Shoutout to all the fans that didn’t give up during the 100 loss seasons, trying to convince themselves that Lucas Harrell could be a number one starter.

Get another one next year.