John Pisano – Contributor
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Houston Astros are back on top once again. Southern students and faculty weighed in and gave their reaction after the Houston Astros won the World Series.
The Houston Astros defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in six games to win their second World Series title in six years.
“I enjoyed the World Series. I was hoping the Mets were in it because I’m a Mets fan,” said an assistant professor in the Recreation Tourism & Sport Management Department, Deron Grabel. “It was tough to root for both teams because the Phillies are a rival and everything that Houston has gone through, but overall, I thought it was well played.”
“It was a pretty average World Series,” said sophomore journalism major, Austin Levasseur. “The Phillies were definitely an underdog. We saw that when they got no-hit in game 4.”
The Astros’ offense was led by shortstop, Jeremey Peña, the rookie phenom took home the MVP honors for the World Series. He became the first rookie position-player to win the award.
This is the Astros’ first championship since 2017, which was surrounded by controversy due to a sign-stealing scandal.
It was found in the 2017 season that the Houston Astros had an elaborate sign-stealing system that allowed them to know what pitch was coming before it was thrown to their hitters.
Since that news came out, many fans have found it difficult to acknowledge the Astros as true champions in the 2017 season.
“As a fan, I think it makes it easier to accept that Houston was a good enough team to win the World Series, even without cheating,” said Grabel.
“I feel we could move on, but we won’t,” said Levasseur. “There will always be that tainted championship for the Astros.”
The Houston Astros have made the World Series three of the last four seasons, losing in 2019 to the Washington Nationals and losing in 2021 to the Atlanta Braves. This year they were able to break through and win their second championship in franchise history.
The Astros were the favorite coming out of the American League to make the World Series as they finished with an American League best record of 106 wins and 56 losses.
“I think the Astros were the perfect team,” said sports management major, Peter Phillips, a senior. “They had offense, defense and pitching, the Astros were built to win.”
One of the narratives surrounding this year’s World Series was based on Astros’ manager Dusty Baker.
According to CNN, Baker, 73, a former player turned manager, became the oldest manager to win a World Series.
That was not the only record for Baker. According to Fox News, Baker had managed the most games in major league baseball history without winning a World Series, a record that was broken when Houston recorded the final out of game 6 against the Phillies.
While many expected the Astros to make it to the World Series, the same cannot be said about the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Phillies finished with a record of 87 wins and 75 losses, good for third in their division, which granted them one of the last open playoff spots.
Philadelphia defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in the wild-card round, the Atlanta Braves in the division series and the San Diego Padres in the championship series to make it to the World Series against the Houston Astros.
“The Phillies basically just rode the wave,” said Phillips.
The Phillies’ Cinderella run was put to a halt by the powerhouse Astros, who have been a consistent force in baseball for the last six seasons.
The Astros are in position to make another push for the World Series next season thanks to a roster that will have many returning players.
“Houston can definitely compete next year,” said Levasseur. “As long as their core players return, Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez and if Justin Verlander comes back, they can compete again.”
