Next Level: The Houston Astros’ Dominant Run to the 2022 World Series

By Gallery Sports

The Houston Astros are 2022 World Series champions! After falling just short of the ultimate prize in 2021, the Houston Astros were hungry to prove they were simply the best in baseball. With All-Star pitching and a potent offense featuring Jose Altuve, Yordan lvarez, and Kyle Tucker, Dusty Baker's 2022 squad raced through the postseason and defeated the Philadelphia Phillies to reclaim the World Series title.Next Level: The Houston Astros' Dominant Run to the 2022 World Series chronicles this remarkable year through in-depth writing from Gallery Sports and dozens of full-color photographs. Celebrate this extraordinary group of players and relive the top moments of their 106-win regular season and momentous playoff run, including sweeps of the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees, and finally lifting the World Series trophy after triumphing over the Phillies.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Independent Publishers Group
• Release date: Nov 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9781637274552

Book preview

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Contents

Introduction

World Series Game 1

World Series Game 2

World Series Game 3

World Series Game 4

World Series Game 5

World Series Game 6

A City’s Champion

Road to the Title

Savor the Moment

Best of the Best

Homegrown

The Not Quite Good Old Days

Sustained Excellence

Unforgettable

Committed to the Craft

Trust the Process

Astonishing Astros

One and the Same

A Whale of a Time

Answering the Call to Arms

Playoffs

American League Division Series Game 1

American League Division Series Game 2

American League Division Series Game 3

American League Championship Series Game 1

American League Championship Series Game 2

American League Championship Series Game 3

American League Championship Series Game 4

Introduction

By Fred Faour

When the Astros got the final out of the 2022 World Series, it wasn’t just leveling up. It was next level. And it was appropriate, because these Astros were video-game great all season long.

And now, Houston has its second title in six years, one that was earned with one magical moment after another. In the end, the Astros conquered the game.

But like all video games, the path to closing it out was not easy. There were fits and starts and times where they had to hit the reset button. But the journey ended with an unforgettable championship.

It really started in 2017, when the Astros won their first title, beating the LA Dodgers in seven games. It was special for so many reasons, because the city of Houston was still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Harvey. That championship forged a bond between the team and the city that can never be broken.

Though many believe that title was tainted by a cheating scandal—everyone was doing it, but the Astros got caught—the city of Houston didn’t care. Their devoted fans loved this team and embraced it, because Houston had been through a lot. Some areas got 51 inches of rain in Harvey. Homes were lost, lives were ruined. The Astros reaching the top level gave people hope and something to rally around.

In 2018, they made it back to the ALCS, a step below the top level. They ran into a Boston Red Sox team that was on a level of its own and would go on to win the World Series.

A year later, it seemed the Astros were destined to climb the mountain again. They won 107 games, and boasted a pitching staff that had Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole and Zack Greinke. But they fell one game short, losing to the Washington Nationals in Game 7 of the World Series. Cole, like Verlander, was a 20-game winner. Unlike Verlander, Cole left as a free agent and signed with the Yankees. The cheating scandal had not yet come to light, but an assistant GM was caught berating a female reporter and that cast shade on the team. The Astros had also acquired controversial reliever Roberto Osuna. Suddenly, the feel-good story started taking hits.

Then the news of the 2017 scandal hit. Draft picks were lost. The team was fined. Manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were fired. Draft picks were stripped. The team was fined. The scandal took on a life of its own, and the world suddenly hated the Astros. The city had to defend its fallen stars.

But the game was far from over. The Astros simply had to hit the reset button. Unfortunately, the adversity was just beginning.

Owner Jim Crane turned to a new voice, the steady veteran Dusty Baker, to manage the team and try to deal with the scandal and lead the Astros through it, but he and new general manager James Click would get more than they could have expected.

Along came 2020, and Covid shut down everything. The Astros, like all teams, were forced to play in a bubble, without fans. After a shaky season, they awoke in the playoffs, once again making the ALCS before losing to Tampa.

Harvey. Covid. Then came 2021, when Texas was devastated by a freeze that knocked out power all over the state, many places for more than a week. The beloved George Springer left in free agency. Still, Houston rallied behind its Astros. In trauma, the Astros were the therapy.

So they once again made it to the World Series, but devastating injuries to Verlander and Lance McCullers were too much to overcome, and they lost to Atlanta in six games, all during a year when the fans returned and other cities made their feelings about 2017 known.

Still, Houston loved its Astros.

Reset button once more. Carlos Correa, another beloved player, also left in free agency. Expectations were still high, but there were so many other gamers out there, it seemed like a long shot the Astros would reach this point.

The Yankees started the season on an incredible run that made it appear they would be one of the best teams in history. The Dodgers made quick work of the NL and looked unbeatable before cratering in the playoffs.

The Astros ignored it all and simply grinded away, with great pitching and above-average hitting. When the regular season ended, they had caught the Yankees and had the American League’s best record. By that point, the love affair with the city was back in full force.

Houston and the Astros were one, once again, with one goal: Close out that last level. Quiet the critics. Prove that six straight ALCS appearances and four World Series appearances in that stretch were no flukes.

Ready player 1? Verlander had a Cy Young season coming off Tommy John surgery, going 18-4 with a miniscule 1.75 ERA.

Player 2? Framber Valdez went 17-6 with a 2.82 ERA and set a record for single season quality starts.

Player 3? Yordan Alvarez had another monster season, with 37 homers, 97 RBIs and a .306 batting average.

But these Astros were so much more. The old reliable, Jose Altuve, with another .300 season. Alex Bregman, quietly driving in 93 runs. Kyle Tucker hitting 30 HRs and driving in 107. Yuli Gurriel, after a brutal regular season, coming alive in the playoffs before being injured in Game 5.

Oh, and let’s not forget Jeremy Peña. The rookie put up similar numbers to Correa, and also won a Gold Glove. Then he became Mr. Clutch in the postseason.

And the pitching staff? While Verlander and Valdez got all the attention, guys like Cristian Javier, Jose Urquidy and Luis Garcia just kept winning games and putting up numbers. The bullpen was just as dominant, with Ryan Pressly, Rafael Montero, Bryan Abreu, Ryne Stanek and Héctor Neris in particular leading the way.

It was a few of those names that pitched just the second no-hitter in World Series history in Game 4, led by Javier’s six innings and backed by Abreu, Montero and Pressly.

A whole city behind them, and superfan Mattress Mack sitting on the biggest wagering score in North American sports history, with a bet on the team that would pay $75 million. And get scores of Houstonians free furniture.

These Astros were always destined for this. From the 2017 scandal. From a city reeling from disaster after disaster. They were focused. They were brilliant. They embraced the hatred of other fan bases.

They embraced the love of Houston.

For the Astros during this amazing run, it has always been about the postseason. They always skipped through the early levels of the game and made the playoffs. So the last level was always the goal.

As they say a few miles down the road at NASA, mission accomplished.

It started with a three-game sweep of the pesky Mariners. On paper it looked easy. It was everything but. The Astros faced a 7-3 deficit late in Game 1. But two of their key players came through in a big way. A Bregman homer made it 7-5, and Alvarez ended it with authority, blasting a three-run walkoff.

In Game 3, the Astros’ brilliant pitching staff was tested in an 18-inning, 1-0 win.

Then came the big, bad Yankees. They went out meekly in four games, and the Astros were back in the World Series with one level to go.

Make no mistake, they were tested by this gritty Phillies team, led by one of the best players in baseball in Bryce Harper. Philly stole Game 1 after trailing 5-0 and put on a homer fest in Game 3 to take a