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Houston Astros relief pitcher Hector Neris and Houston Astros starting pitcher Cristian Javier (53) after they clinched the AL West after beating the Tampa Bay Rays of an MLB baseball game at Tropicana Field on Monday, Sept. 19, 2022 in St. Petersburg.
Houston Astros relief pitcher Hector Neris and Houston Astros starting pitcher Cristian Javier (53) after they clinched the AL West after beating the Tampa Bay Rays of an MLB baseball game at Tropicana Field on Monday, Sept. 19, 2022 in St. Petersburg.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Dusty Baker was on the lookout. His eyes, unshielded by the customary ski goggles, darted back and forth, scanning for danger as corks popped and droplets drenched the tarp-covered visitors clubhouse at Tropicana Field. The Astros manager stopped talking mid-sentence when he spotted Yordan Alvarez lurking with a golden bottle in hand.
“Hey, Grande, no!” Baker cautioned his slugger. The manager gestured to his uncovered eyes and said in Spanish, “No lentes,” or, “No glasses.”
It was with clear eyes that many inside and outside the Astros organization saw the club’s potential to repeat as American League West champions, but what appeared an inevitable conclusion to many arrived still in surprisingly dominant fashion.
Monday’s 4-0 win over the Rays allowed the Astros to wrap up their fifth division title in six years, a remarkable feat of consistency that Baker was in the midst of describing when he was finally doused with champagne and beer by Alvarez, Aledmys Díaz and Lance McCullers Jr.
“We didn’t know what we had in spring training,” said Baker, who has won nine division titles in his managerial career, the last two with Houston. “We expected to win it, but we didn’t know we were gonna win it by this much. But they just grinded and grinded and grinded. That’s the key. They were consistent every month, and these guys love each other. That’s what I love.”
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The Astros’ division-clinching win kept them 15 games ahead of the second-place Mariners at the top of the AL West standings, a gulf so wide no challenger has gotten closer than 10 games back since mid-July.
“Just the players in this locker room putting it all together,” Astros general manager James Click said when asked for the key to the team’s success. “We had high hopes for this roster, but you never know — 162 games can do weird things to teams, and the best-laid plans can get blown up by the end of April. The players in this locker room know what they need to do in order to win, and they went out, and they did it.”
They did it despite losing, over the last several years, a contingent of All-Star players who constituted an embarrassment of riches. The departures of Gerrit Cole, George Springer and Carlos Correa after each of the last three seasons did not deter the Astros from yet another division title and their sixth consecutive postseason berth.
“We let go some good players, but we brought some good players, too,” second baseman Jose Altuve said. “We’re really happy here. Obviously, George, Cole and Carlos are really good players, but like I said, we've got to keep playing, and we’re happy with the guys we have here.”
Altuve, the longest tenured member of the current Astros, is by now an expert at staying mostly dry during boozy celebrations. He remained out of the fray Monday, content to soak it all in without literally getting soaked.
The same could not be said for newly minted MLB record-holder Framber Valdez, who a day after pitching his 25th consecutive quality start danced gleefully underneath showers of bubbly with a green bag protecting his meticulously woven locks.
Outfielder Mauricio Dubón, first baseman Yuli Gurriel and hitting coach Alex Cintrón posed for photos, wearing T-shirts that had been distributed on the field, printed with the proclamation, “The West is ours.”
When the champagne began to run out, pitchers Cristian Javier and Héctor Neris scooped ice cubes out of the coolers and threw them into the air like glistening confetti.
Neris signed a two-year deal with the Astros last winter after spending eight seasons with the Phillies. The veteran reliever secured the final three outs against the Rays and was at the center of almost every celebratory champagne spraying in the postgame clubhouse.
“I’m so happy today,” Neris said. “Thank you, Houston, for supporting me here, and I’ll be here for a long time. Championship! … I came for that, and I feel right now that the decision I made is the right decision.”
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Alvarez, a power hitter whose looming presence in the batter’s box cannot be ignored, stealthily poured champagne down the spine of anyone foolish enough to turn his back. His victims included Baker and, on two separate occasions, ace Justin Verlander — who managed to keep a straight face when Alvarez drenched him as he spoke to reporters.
The 39-year-old Verlander’s vigorous comeback from Tommy John surgery has been one of the season’s best story lines, and the results he’s achieved are only the tip of the iceberg for an Astros starting rotation that ended Monday leading the American League in ERA, WHIP and opponent batting average.
“It’s really special to be here and experience this again,” Verlander said. “It could have been taken away from me with my surgery. The personal stuff aside, to be able to experience this with your teammates is something I don't take for granted. I've been a part of a lot of teams that have made the playoffs. I've been here a lot, but you know, I'll never forget: One of our first years making the playoffs with the Tigers, Sean Casey had come over, who had 10 years in the league and never made the playoffs. And that perspective that those guys bring, saying how special it is, don't take it for granted, that's something that always stuck with me.”
Verlander, Altuve, Gurriel, McCullers and third baseman Alex Bregman are the last remaining members of the Astros’ 2017 squad and thus the only players who have been present for all five of the recent division titles. They are well aware of the rarefied air they breathe in Houston.
“It never gets old, but there are guys who have played in the game for a long time who have never been,” Bregman said. “Then you have guys who made their debut a few weeks ago. So it never gets old. It’s always fun. This is why we play the game. We play the game to win.”
Trey Mancini was dealt from the Orioles to the Astros at the July trade deadline after experiencing five consecutive playoff-deficient seasons in Baltimore. Prior to Monday, his lone champagne celebration came during his rookie season in 2016, when the Orioles snuck into the AL wild card game on the last day of the regular season.
“At the time, I remember thinking that it was going to be commonplace and that's what happens every year, but that's not the case,” Mancini said. “I have been kind of waiting for this moment for a long time. Like I said, you know, unfortunately, we had a few tough years in Baltimore, and things started to turn around this year, but at the same time, I remember a couple of teams that clinched against us and thinking that it'd be really cool to be on the other side. So it's nice to be there.”
Jeremy Peña, who was on the Astros’ taxi squad but did not actually play when the team clinched the division in 2021, celebrated this year as the franchise’s starting shortstop and a cornerstone of its future.
Hunter Brown, who contributed three scoreless frames in relief to Monday’s victory, emptied a can of beer onto fellow rookie David Hensley’s head. One month ago, both were still in Triple-A.
“It’s awesome,” Brown said. “These guys have worked hard all season, and I just joined recently, but I’m just really happy to be here and be a part of it. I wouldn’t rather be any other place.”
The Astros have won 10 of their last 12 games, and their 13-4 record in September is the best in the major leagues. The magic number for the Astros to clinch home field throughout the American League postseason is seven over the Yankees.
The finishing touches on Houston’s season are still to come, including securing the top playoff seed in the American League and contending with the rigors of an actual postseason run.
But Monday was a still-satisfying culmination of what Baker described as a “total team effort.”
“Everybody worked as music together,” Baker said. “This is what it takes, especially in modern baseball.”
Danielle Lerner covers the Rockets, Astros and a variety of sports for the Houston Chronicle. She previously covered college basketball for The Daily Memphian, The Athletic and the Louisville Courier Journal. A true utility player, she has also written about professional soccer, horse racing, college football and college baseball. Her work has been honored by APSE and SPJ. A native Californian, Lerner spends her free time being active outdoors and exploring Houston's taco scene.