By Woodrow Carroll
If the Houston Astros come away as World Series champions in 2023, it will end a drought going back to 2000. Not since the New York Yankees made it three straight in World Series championships, 1998-2000, has a team repeated as World Series champions.
The Yankees just missed making it a four-peat in 2001 when the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Yankees in a seven-game final.
Since that time, however, the defending champion often has been in the picture only to miss repeating as champion.
The Astros, who defeated the Philadelphia Phillies, four games to two in last season’s World Series, have had their shot at repeating only to fall short. Actually, more than a few teams have come close only to falter along the way since the Yankees’ three-peat ended in 2000.
The Astros have the unique distinction of representing both the National League and the American League in the World Series. Fans of the Chicago White Sox will be more than happy to recount Houston’s first World Series appearance.
In 2005, the Astros reached the World Series for the first time as National League champion. Waiting for the Astros were the White Sox who dispatched the Astros with a four-game sweep to give the White Sox their first World Series championship since 1917.
Major League Baseball in Houston needs a bit of clarity!
Houston gained its first Major League Baseball (MLB) team in 1962 with the coming of the Colt .45s. That was the first season for Houston in the National League. If you are looking for trendsetting, Houston paved the way with Sunday night baseball. Outdoor Summer weather in Houston left something to be desired and it brought MLB’s going with Sunday night baseball for the first time to reduce the effect of the heat.
The Colt .45s name lasted only three years. In 1965, with the coming of the Astrodome, the franchise name became the Astros. The Astrodome stayed with us until 1999 and was abandoned. The franchise name became a fixture.
In 2013, after 51 seasons as a National League member, Houston moved to the American League. The past few seasons have been good for the franchise. The Astros won their first World Series championship in 2017 and followed that with World Series appearances in 2019 and 2021, albeit losing ones before last season’s World Series championship.
- Win the World Series, then take the following season off was the San Francisco Giants theme a decade ago.
The 2010, 2012, and 2014, Giants were World Series champions under manager Bruce Bochy. In the intervening years, the Giants had little to show for their efforts.
Similar to the Brooklyn Dodgers, the New York Giants left the East Coast after the 1957 campaign and headed west. Both clubs experienced a fairly high degree of success, although more by the Dodgers in Los Angeles.
The last team to win the World Series with a four-game sweep, was the 2012 Giants. San Francisco took out the Detroit Tigers.
- The Miami Marlins operated as the Florida Marlins upon joining the Major League Baseball fraternity in 1993 before a name change brought about the Miami Marlins in 2012.
The Marlins have never won the NL East Division championship which goes back to 1993, however, the wild card entry has been kind to the franchise. In 1997 and 2003, the Marlins qualified for the postseason as a wild-card qualifier and made the best of it. The 1997 Marlins beat the Cleveland Indians in seven games to win the World Series. In 2003, the Marlins toppled the Yankees in six games to win the World Series.