Glass Houses

Last night I was, of course, watching the final game of the ALCS. I was very happy that the Astros were able to battle back from a 0-3 deficit, but I wasn’t particularly surprised that their efforts fell short as they dealt with injuries and everything else that was a part of this hellscape we call 2020.

I was legitimately happy for the Rays to move on to the World Series and was about to post a congratulatory tweet when I saw the Rays AAA affiliate Durham Bulls put out a tweet calling the Astros trash. Here I am seeing a ton of Astros fans sincerely congratulating the Rays, and this Rays affiliate seems to be more excited to “trash” the Astros than they are about the fact that their team just advanced to the World Series. Nothing like being a sore winner.

Here’s the deal. I do not now nor have I ever condoned what the Astros did. They stole signs in a manner that was against the rules and it shouldn’t have happened. But it did. At the time, I wrote a post telling the players involved to grow up. Well, guess what? They did. They confessed. They apologized. And they owned it. And, in retrospect, that was the problem. Other teams were cheating in similar fashion around the same time. But they chose to obfuscate and cover up their investigations with the winking consent of Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred. The Yankees have fought to keep sealed a letter regarding their own scandal because it “might harm their reputation.” No confessions. No apologies. And no owning it for them. Just sweeping it under the rug.

I was not proud of what the Astros did, but I am proud of the way the players handled it. They did not deflect blame. They did not hide behind Manfred’s skirts. They owned it. Carlos Correa went from a boy to a man in the blink of an eye and I could not be prouder of him. He became the team leader and franchise spokesman. Bregman ramped up his efforts to help the community during the current crisis. They refuse to let this scandal define them as people or as players.

The fans of other teams view the collective Astros brand as the boogeyman. They do not see the individual players for what they are. And these same people have zero self-awareness. Hey, Rays fans, since the Astros are so evil, please send us Charlie Morton back. He was one of those 2017 Cheating ‘Stros. You must really hate him. And while you’re at it, you can send us back your third base coach (Rodney Linares) and one of your bullpen pitchers (Ryan Thompson) because they were in the Astros system in 2017 and you wouldn’t want to risk being tainted by their Astros stank. And I know you just acquired Brett Phillips, but you do know that he is besties with Lance McCullers and Carlos Correa, right? And worst of all, you have a Special Assistant to the GM (Bobby Heck) that was, gasp, the Scouting Director for the Astros and was instrumental in signing George Springer and Carlos Correa. How do you know that he isn’t trying to corrupt your organization? And it’s not just the Rays. You will be hard-pressed to find an MLB organization with zero connection to this team. The Astros tentacles are everywhere.

This is the reality. Someone on your favorite team may very well be trying to get an edge by stealing signs or by doctoring a baseball or by taking performance-enhancing drugs. Or they may be gambling on baseball. Or they may be going out of their way to intentionally hurt other players with hard slides or beanballs. Or they may be domestic abusers. Or they may be stone-cold cowards who like to date underage girls (I’m looking at you A’s). Or your front office may be trying to steal proprietary information. Or your coaches or managers may be the ones who persuaded players to cheat. Or you may have players on your team who are just lousy human beings. Your team is only as pure and blameless as the worst person in your organization. Go ahead and throw stones, but don’t be surprised when the glass gets broken in your own house.

Oh, and one final word. Since the Astros (booga booga booga) are so horrible and evil, I am assuming that there is not one single fan of another team that will want George Springer in free agency. Who could possibly want “trash” like that? With that said, I am sincerely happy for the Rays and would like to congratulate them on moving on to the World Series.

Earn It

Earn it. This simple catchphrase was rolled out prior to the Astros 2017 season and was meant to be motto, hashtag and inspiration. But it also defined this young group of emerging stars anchored by a batting champion and a Cy Young winner, a talented group that was starting to really jell but still had to prove themselves on a national stage. With the phrase plastered everywhere, the team was reminded every day that they had to Earn It.

Earn It. Simple, elegant, descriptive. Earn It. But what exactly is "It?" The most obvious answer? Postseason glory. That's what the fans wanted and needed coming into this season and that's what was predicted following what was basically a total gut job and rebuild that started with trading off Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman in 2010 and went into hyperdrive when General Manager Jeff Luhnow took over in December 2011. With the Astros coming off three 100+ loss seasons from 2011 through 2013, Sports Illustrated published their instantly controversial June 2014 article and cover postulating where the Astros "Great Experiment" could be headed.

And Astros fans needed that hope even though that hope was still far off on the horizon. There were so many national sports pundits with their hair on fire over this rebuild, literally accusing the Astros front office of ruining the Integrity of the Game (I'm looking at you, Peter Gammons), that it was difficult to stomach at times. For Astros fans who hung in there despite abuse from so many corners, "It" also became national respectability for the franchise. With this team poised to be a contender for the foreseeable future, they have definitely earned that national stage once again.

But "It" is more.  Jose Altuve, Dallas Keuchel, Carlos Correa, George Springer, Chris Devenski and Lance McCullers also earned "It" in the form of All-Star honors. Altuve has already earned "It" through batting titles and an MVP Award (which he may or may not be given but which he definitely earned). Keuchel earned "It" with a Cy Young in 2015. Although none of these players will be happy until they earn the ultimate "It" for the team and for Houston, they will continue to work towards being the best at what they do and inspiring their teammates to do the same. The latest Astro, Justin Verlander, is there for the same reason ... to excel and to inspire with an eye toward the ultimate "It."

But there is one more "It" that I find equally important to the ultimate "It." This team, with 19 players on the 40-man roster having made their debuts in 2015, 2016 and 2017 and 13 other players who made their Astros debut during that same time, needed to earn the respect and trust of Astros fans who have been waiting for this moment for a very long time. And, for the most part, they've done just that.

But they did that particular "It" one better. Through hearing their stories; through watching their joy and energy on the field; through incredible clutch plays, catches, throws and at-bats; through picking each other up; through their good works off the field; through their generous outpouring of support for those affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Maria ... they have given the City of Houston a team to be proud of, a team to love, a team that we will be telling our children and our grand-children about for decades to come with family arguments erupting over our favorite Astros of all time. And maybe that's really the ultimate "It."