On November 9, the Houston Astros cemented themselves in the history books again as World Series Champions with a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. While the win was highly anticipated by most (including myself), I was very impressed with the Phillies ability to hang with an Astros squad determined to not show weakness, which brings me to my next point… this six-year stretch of Astros domination creates an argument for one of the most dominant stretches in any MLB franchise’s history:

2017: World Series Winner

2018: lost in the ALCS

2019: lost in the World Series

2020: lost in the ALCS

2021: lost in the World Series

2022: World Series Winner

It is clear that 2017 will always have a tinge of distaste due to the cheating scandal, which gives room to question 2018 and 2019 for the same reasons, but how can anybody argue against the consistency of the Astros franchise? Cheating or not, the Astros have proven that they are the best team in the American League currently, even some of the best teams in MLB history have not accomplished such a feat. To put this streak into perspective, only one other team in the history of baseball has made six or more consecutive Championship Series appearances: the Atlanta Braves from 1991 to 1998. 

Focusing on this year specifically, Yordan Alvarez led the charge for the Astros with a .306/.406/.613 slashline. His OPS+ was 187, 100 is league average, which means he was almost two times more productive than an average Major League hitter. The team also consisted of players like Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman who continued to show that they are elite MLB hitters and saw decent growth and product from the ascending Kyle Tucker.

What was most astonishing to me was the Astros’ pitching. Their rotation consisted of two pitchers that I feel should be finalists in the AL Cy Young voting: Justin Verlander and Framber Valdez. Additionally, Christian Javier, Lance McCullers Jr., Luis Garcia and Jose Urquidy all provided high quality innings all year. 

It doesn’t stop there either. Their bullpen was maybe the best part of their team this year, seemingly shutting down numerous close games and also keeping the opponents lead within reach for the offense all year. Ryan Pressly locked down the backend of a strong Astros bullpen all year

It goes without saying, but the 2022 Houston Astros may be the most complete team ever in baseball, and they accomplished it against a plucky-yet-formidable Phillies team. Unfortunately, Bryce Harper could not carry the load all postseason, however I was happy to see him make a strong impact this postseason after leaving the Washington Nationals in the offseason before they won a World Series.

While the Phillies may have lost this year, the talented returning core of guys such as Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, J.T. Realmuto, Rhys Hoskins and Kyle Schwarber will have them in the hunt for years to come. Additionally, Rob Thomson showed that a manager was the missing piece for this team, and I truly think that Bryce Harper and co. will have their chance again at a ring soon. 

For now at least, baseball fans can soak in the takeaways from this season, especially that the Houston Astros have built one of the greatest dynasties in the history of baseball.