Astros were ready for takeoff
The Astros were just overall too much for Philadelphia to handle. As I predicted, they took the series in 6 games and we got to see masterclass performances by this Astros pitching crew. Framber Valdez to lead the way going 2-0 in the World Series with a 1.40 ERA are numbers players would dream to even achieve in the regular season.
While Framber did this at the highest level. From Houston avoiding directly pitching to Bryce Harper which was frustrating to many, it was the gameplan. Make the other hitters carry the load and while they did do some damage to this seemingly unbreakable unit, it wasn’t enough.
The Phillies’ pitching also was deflating as Aaron Nola did not improve from his postseason slump since his outing against the Padres partnered by Zack Wheeler did not live up to what we expected.
Houston had passion, they had great coaching, and they had some power from their bats such as slugger Yordan Alvarez shooting a 3-run moon shot into the far center field in Minute Maid Park in game 6. It was the only ball all season reaching that towering platform in the outfield and everyone knew that Houston would be crowned champion when it happened.
MLB’s Powerball
A 71-year-old Texas local who’s a furniture salesman had a house-breaking bet that was one of the craziest wins we’ve ever seen. With a winning ticket taking Houston Astros at 10-1 odds to win the World Series before the year began, Mattress Mack put 10 million dollars on it, netting a total of 30 million which was Ceasars Sportsbook’s biggest check they’ve written out in history.
Apparently, through all his other parlays and bets, his total payout from everything will be nearly 75 million dollars. Well, what’s he doing with all the money? He’s decided to give a big majority of it back to his customers!
He quotes here “It’s gonna be pretty much a wash of giving the customers their money back, which is what we really want to do because then word of mouth advertising lasts for 20 or 30 years,” he told CNBC ahead of the World Series. “My real interest is making sure the customers win because the customers will be happy and thrilled and smiling,” he said.
A noble and marketable way to do it. How could you not like this guy?
Dusty Baker & Jeremy Pena make history
Besides Houston finally winning a legitimate World Series without alleged cheating is history in itself. Dusty Baker, the Houston manager, is now the oldest in the game to win a World Series. Not only did we see fans and players spread the “ Do it for Dusty “ movement, but everyone knows how long this man has been connected to the MLB, and how well-deserved it was for him.
After the World Series, he talked about how he felt waiting this long to win and he basically said you have to commit to the process and you have to love it when you enter this game and if you do that, it’ll pay off no matter who you are.
We also witnessed a rookie win the World Series MVP in Jeremy Pena. Pena, who was my initial favorite to win the award really showed maturity throughout this series and the postseason in general, and consistently held his ground on both sides of the field showing up in any possible way he could to give this team the upper advantage.
I think after seeing the way this World Series played out, I think more free agents will want to join this squad, the fanbase will increasingly grow over time, and owner Jim Crane and even Mattress Mack will be very happy to be a part of this Astros organization for years to come. Go Stros!
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