2011 Set - Houston Astros

This is the dumpster fire Houston Astros team that sold at the deadline before new ownership’s/management’s overhaul. It shows. A few Base Set cards rescue this lineup from being the worst you’ve ever seen, but 2 of the top 3 hitters were dealt to other teams and show up in the Pennant Run elsewhere.

Hunter Pence is a solid card who gets even better in his PR card with the Phillies. Michael Bourn is an affordable 9 OB, speed A card. Another 1B +1 shows up on Carlos Lee’s decent card. Clint Barmes has big 00 Mike Bordick energy.

2021 MLB Showdown Set -- AL Champion Houston Astros

"To feel so desperately that you're right. Yet to fail all the same. Dread it. Run from it. Destiny still arrives" 

Likewise, the biggest villain in baseball won its third AL pennant in five years.

Houston has unquestionably been the most hated franchise in baseball since news of its cheating in 2017 became public. They were able to dodge the boobirds and haters in the mostly fan-less 2020 pandemic season, but faced many jeers along the way this year.... and it didn't matter. The big orange villain from Texas cruised to 95 wins (an incredible 101 pythagorean wins!!!) and through its AL competition in the playoffs. 

It's odd -- in five seasons, Houston has either gone to the World Series or ALCS every single year. It's an extremely impressive run and Dusty Baker deserves all the credit in the world for what he's been able to do during his two years at the helm. Also the cheating factor is going to have many dismissing this squad's greatness (and their run may be over if Correa leaves this offseason), but this five year stretch is arguably the best five year run of any franchise since the turn of the century... but the lack of finishing in the World Series is a HUGE counter to that argument (even though I'd take their run/teams over the Giants 2010-14 squads). 

Speaking of villains, here's prime Beltran...... who also fell short in the postseason for the Astros during his hey-day. Now onto the 2021 Houston Astros:

2020 MLB SHOWDOWN SET --- AL WEST

 It is officially World Series Week, and I for one a hyped, the Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers are going to have an awesome series with lots of showdown star power in the series. In this post were going to look at the AL West and if it wasn't for Tampa Bay, we may have had the worst World Series Showdown team ever. Not because of them being a bunch of cheaters, but because the regular season version of the Astros was not very good... all the averages and on bases dipped from the last couple years (since they must now see how hard it is to hit like every other team in the league when you don't know what is coming). Okay, I have gotten all my Astros bashing out of the way, so let's BANG on through the AL West and see what the studs (and duds tbh) will be joining the set of stars and that have already been released. 

                                               

1998 Houston Astros

While the 2004-2005 seasons may stand out as the most successful in Astros history because of the late playoff runs those teams made, the 1998 Astros stands out as the best overall team. In the midst of prime Bagwell-Biggio seasons, with Moises Alou, Carl Everett, and Derek Bell forming a lethal outfield, the Astros offense was potent. And in 1998, after trading for eventual Hall of Famer Randy Johnson, the Astros starting rotation was incredibly lethal as well. Johnson would go 10-1 with a 1.28 ERA in his 11 starts for Houston, leading a Houston pitching staff that had a remarkable 3.50 team ERA while playing in the same division as HR titans Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa!

Houston won a franchise record 102 games and the NL Central by 12 games. Unfortunately, they were unceremoniously bounced by an inferior (and soon coming) Padres team in the NLDS. They would lose Randy Johnson to the upstart Diamondbacks during the offseason and (despite making the '99 playoffs) would never be quite as lethal as that 98 team again.