Fastball

Houston Astros Do Something Not Seen in Last 35 Years of History in Division Title Run

They say you can't win a division in April, but you can lose one. Evidently, that's not the case for the Houston Astros.

Brady Farkas

Houston Astros celebrate defeating the Seattle Mariners and winning the American League West at Minute Maid Park on Sept 24.
Houston Astros celebrate defeating the Seattle Mariners and winning the American League West at Minute Maid Park on Sept 24. / Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
In this story:

The old saying goes that "you can't win a division in April, but you can lose one." Well, apparently those rules don't apply to the Houston Astros, who overcame a truly dreadful start to capture the American League West title on Tuesday night.

The Astros trailed by the Seattle Mariners by as many as 10.0 games back on June 18, but erased the deficit and vanquished the Mariners 4-3 on Tuesday night to capture the title.

Though the Mariners had a hand in giving the division lead away, it was a truly historic turnaround by the Astros.

Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

WHAT A TURNAROUND

the Astros started 12-24

only other teams to make playoffs after losing at least 24 of their first 36 decisions:

1914 Boston Braves: 11-25
1989 Blue Jays: 12-24
1981 Royals: 12-24 (split season, finished 1st in div in 2nd half)

The Astros resolve this year has been amazing given all the issues they've dealt with. First off, they have a first-year manager in Joe Espada who was just learning his away around things. Then, they lost starting pitchers Jose Urquidy, Cristian Javier, and JP France for the season to injury. They also never got to see anything from Lance McCullers or Luis Garcia, who are recovering from injury still. Justin Verlander missed a large portion of the season and hasn't looked right even when he does pitch.

But guys like Ronel Blanco stepped up to fill the void and keep the team afloat.

As for now, the Astros would be the No. 3 seed in the American League playoffs. They would play the final wild card team, which is currently the Kansas City Royals.

Follow Fastball On SI on social media

Continue to follow our Fastball On SI coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN.

Published
Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

Home/History