The Houston Astros are the 2022 World Series Champions. The ‘Stros took down the Philadelphia Phillies last Saturday night in Game Six, 4-1.
For Houston, starting pitcher Frambler Valdez was nearly flawless until the sixth inning when Phillies outfielder Kyle Schwarber sent a screaming solo shot into the right field stands. However, the 1-0 lead was short-lived as the slugging juggernaut Yordan Alvarez sent a towering 450 foot bomb over the center field batter’s eye. Alvarez sent the three-run round trip off of Phillies reliever José Alvarado.
In addition to Houston’s clutch hitting, rookie shortstop and 2022 World Series MVP Jeremy Peña notched a pair of hits and was on base for Alvarez’s home run.
The Astros notched their second franchise World Series title. The first one came in 2017, later accused of cheating and illegally stealing signs during their postseason run five years ago.
Houston’s pitching depth became the biggest advantage in this World Series matchup. This depth created dominance, especially over the last three games of the series, as the Astros held the Phillies to a total of three runs in Games Four, Five, and Six. A notable Game Four when the ‘Stros created a combined no-hitter after allowing seven unanswered runs in Game Three.
The Astros have become the 21 MLB franchise to win multiple World Series titles. They haven’t been around for that long, with their first season being 1962. None of the teams in the expansion class of 1962 and later have two World Series titles. The Astros now join the New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays, Miami Marlins and Kansas City Royals as expansion teams to win multiple titles.
The Astros’ skipper Dusty Baker becomes just the third Black manager in MLB history to win the World Series. He joins Cito Gaston (Toronto Blue Jays 1992, 1993) and Dave Roberts (Los Angeles Dodgers 2020). Baker has 2,093 wins credited to his name, and he’s led five different clubs to division titles and postseason berths. He came within five outs of winning a World Series with the Giants in 2002, now finishing the job 20 years later.
