The Houston Astros, baseball’s biggest dynasty of the past seven years, had a rough start to their 2024 campaign. Their hitting was subpar, the pitching staff was slumping and the managerial decisions by Joe Espada were extremely questionable. The Astros sat at a record of 12-24, a record that placed them in last place in the AL West, second to last in the American League, and 26th out of 30 teams in Major League Baseball (MLB).
In May, many Astros fans began to worry that the Astros would not even get to a .500 record. The Astros were also hit hard with injuries such as star Kyle Tucker fracturing his shin on June 3. After a loss to the Chicago White Sox on June 18 that gave the Astros a 29.3% chance to make the playoffs, it seemed as if the end of their season was near.
Then, the Astros caught fire. Since May 9, the Houston Astros have had the best record in baseball, sitting at a staggering 65-43 as of Sept. 5. Due to injuries, the Astros have had to rely heavily on players without much major league experience, such as Spencer Arrighetti and Jon Singleton. In this time frame, pitcher Hunter Brown has arguably been the best pitcher in baseball along with catcher and “battery mate” Yainer Diaz, who has arguably been surging at the plate
Fans were asked about their hopes for the rest of the regular season, their hopes of making the postseason, and their favorite players over the successful stretch. The responses are much different than those back in May. Emery baseball coach and Astros fan Preston Clarke stated, “At this point, it is championship or bust. That is how it has been in Houston for the last seven years, and I think we have a good chance at it this season.”
The fans’ outlooks on the season have changed drastically. While many are optimistic now, this was not the case at the beginning of the season. Current Emery junior Jake Yomtov said back in May, “Our pitching sucks and we can’t score with runners in scoring position. No way we can turn it around.”
Although pessimism reigned in May, there were still slivers of hope, as Yomtov’s classmate and fellow Astros superfan Liam Miller talked about peaks and valleys in May, saying, “Baseball is the longest season out of any sport, you’re not going to win all 162 games. So even if you start weakly, keep grinding and rising until you hit that peak, and all of a sudden, you’re back in playoff contention.”
Fox Sports Analyst Ben Verlander, brother of Astros Hall-of-Fame pitcher Justin Verlander, states it simply: “The Astros are inevitable.”
