The 2020 season would be like none before it and the Astros felt the full force of its fury. On November 12th, 2019, two weeks after the World Series, a website called "The Athletic" published a story from two respected sportswriters who quoted former Houston pitcher Mike Fiers as claiming that the Astros were stealing signals during home games using a centerfield camera and a crude system of decoding signs and banging on trash cans with a bat. Major League Baseball (MLB) launched an investigation. Video evidence seemed to confirm the accusations.

In an effort to get to the truth, and as a means of avoiding conflict with the players union, MLB promised immunity from punishment for any players who testified in the investigation.

On January 13th, G.M. Jeff Luhnow and Manager A.J. Hinch were suspended by MLB for one full season. First- and second-round draft selections for 2020 and 2021 were pulled, plus a $5 million dollar fine was assessed. Majority owner Jim Crane fired both Luhnow and Hinch within hours of the report's release. While both denied taking part in it, the pair were held responsible for the actions because of their managerial roles.

While Hinch was aware of the scheme and showed disapproval – at one point smashing the video monitor used to relay the signs – he admitted he hadn't done more to forbid the practice. Luhnow flat out denied any knowledge, claiming he didn't read the memo sent by the commissioner's office which had outlined the policy and the punishment for violating it. He later sued the Astros.

Boston manager Alex Cora, a Houston bench coach in 2017, and New York Mets manager Carlos Beltran, a player in 2017 who was brought in to provide leadership, were considered ringleaders of the scheme. Several players felt the plan had the team's tacit approval since a coach and a veteran player were involved. Both men were soon dismissed by their respective clubs and Cora was eventually suspended for a full season although he was rehired by Boston afterwards.

The MLB report claimed there was no evidence that the scandal directly affected the results of any particular game and that the evidence suggested the cheating had stopped during the 2018 season. Curiously, the Astros hit better on the road in 2017 than at home where the system was in place and many concluded the cheating was ultimately ineffective.

This did not quiet speculation of a larger conspiracy that might involve multiple teams. MLB seemed intent to limit the blame to only Houston, quietly wrist-slapping Cora's 2018 World Champion Red Sox who saw what was done to the Astros and lawyered up, denying any involvement beyond a lowly video room attendant whom, I guess, was stealing signs strictly for his own amusement.

The New York Yankees, where Beltran had spent the 2016 season, were also suspected and sought to block public release of a memo between their front office and MLB. The Los Angeles Dodgers, who reached the Series in 2017 and 2018, had been accused by members of the New York Mets and Milwaukee Brewers who reported their suspicions to the commissioner's office before the scandal broke.

While the Astros organization expressed regret, they were slammed for the unconvincing manner of their apologies. At spring training, Crane held a press conference where Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman read statements with all the emotionlessness of Iranian hostages. They were brought forward mostly as "faces" of the franchise, not leaders of the gang.

An emotional Carlos Correa took the scandal squarely on his back, admitted to his role in the wrongdoing and claimed Altuve not only disapproved of the cheating, he threatened the people banging trash cans when it was done while he was at the plate. An independent video tracker confirmed that there was far less banging when Altuve batted than most other players. Not surprisingly, Beltran was one of the players receiving the most bangs.

Soon after the firings, the Astros hired 70-year-old Johnnie "Dusty" Baker to replace Hinch as the manager. A former player and respected African-American pioneer with a 22-year managerial resume, Baker was the sort of "old school" no-nonsense skipper who was the antithesis of the modern analytically-driven baseball men like Hinch. A few weeks later, the Astros signed James Click from the Tampa front office to take over for Luhnow.

Baseball media openly mused of pitchers beaning Houston batters while some spring training fans brought along their own means to express their outrage. The rhetoric was becoming so violent that Baker appealed to Commissioner Rob Manfred to calm down the threats. Manfred toughened the penalties for altercations in response.

Meanwhile, the Astros had lost star pitcher Gerrit Cole to the Yankees in free agency. This vacancy was never seriously addressed. The other ace, Justin Verlander, was shut down in the spring and required surgery.

Before the season could begin, a deadly flu-like virus made its way from China around the world. Known as Coronavirus or COVID-19, it struck America by March and sports began shutting down in response. Baseball also relented, postponing the beginning of their season. Ownership and the players union (MLBPA) began negotiations on a shortened season and the players agreed to receive only a pro-rated portion of their salaries based on the number of games in the regular season.

With a little fortitude, the season could have resumed in June but the union and owners fought over the length of the schedule, health protocols and travel issues. In addition, ownership tried to rescind the agreement on pro-rated salaries and pay them instead a percentage of revenue. This made the union bristle as they believed a deal had already been struck.

Ultimately, Manfred admitted the owners were not interested in any season longer than 60 games and an exasperated union relented in early July.

Although the plague did not cause any deaths in Astros Nation, 2020 was a rough one for Astros alumni. The year began with World Series perfect game hurler Don Larsen passing and he would be followed by the likes of All-Stars Jim Wynn, Bob Watson, Joe Morgan and Denis Menke.

Houston began a three-week mini-training camp then their season began on July 24th. The Astros' schedule was drawn exclusively of teams from the AL West Division and the NL West. This was designed to limit travel and reduce exposure to the virus within different groups. Unlike MLB's East and Central divisions, the West suffered no serious outbreaks although some other delays occurred. Originally, the Astros were to have 31 home dates and 29 road games but they ended up with 32 games away from home. For the most part, fans were banned from the ballparks so there was little difference between home and road games, although you couldn't tell by Houston's home (20-8) and road (9-23) records.

Houston started 6-4 but, immediately, there were problems. Injuries sprung up like weeds, especially to the pitching staff left thin from off-season defections. Verlander won his first game but was shut down again with a sore forearm which eventually revealed elbow ligament damage. He tried to make a comeback but later chose to have Tommy John surgery which has a lengthy rehab. A similar story happened to closer Roberto Osuna days later.

Rookie of the Year winner Yordan Alvarez suffered knee pains all spring and rushed to be ready for the new season. After two games, he too was shut down for the year and had both knees operated on. Among those who didn't play at all were pitchers Rogelio Armenteros, newly-acquired Austin Pruitt and reliever Joe Smith, who opted out of the season due to his ailing mother. Others like pitcher Jose Urquidy didn't join the club until late in the season. Veterans Brad Peacock, Joe Biagini, Chris Devenski and Bryan Abreu were limited to four or less games.

Into the breech stepped several minor leaguers, some of whom were overwhelmed by the challenge while others showed they could make the reckless jump to the big leagues. 15 rookie pitchers took the mound for Houston in 2020, including 10 who made their major league debuts.

The brightest light belonged to Cristian Javier (5-2, 3.48 ERA), a 23-year-old Dominican who became a finalist for the Rookie of the Year Award. Javier became a fixture in the rotation and later adjusted to relief work during the playoffs. Other top rookies were relievers Andre Scrubb (1-0, 1.90, 1 save), Enoli Paredes (3-3, 3.05) and lefty Blake Taylor (2-1, 2.18, 1) who came over from the Mets.

Framber Valdez (5-3, 3.57), who had trials with the Astros in 2018 and 2019, earned a spot in the starting rotation and appeared to have turned a corner in his career. He joined Javier, Lance McCullers (3-3, 3.93) and veteran Zack Greinke (3-3, 4.03) to start 43 of the 60 games. Brandon Bielak (3-3, 6.75) and Urquidy (1-1, 2.73) also started at least five games.

Once Osuna went down, the closer role fell mostly on veteran Ryan Pressly (1-3, 3.43, 12) who struggled early. In fact, late-inning bullpen collapses were frequent for awhile. Their record in one-run (10-14) and extra-inning games (2-7) reflected the lack of dependable options. Brooks Raley (0-1, 3.94, 1) and Josh James (1-0, 7.27) also saw action in ten or more games.

On offense, the injury bug was less pronounced but production fell off noticeably. With Alvarez sidelined, Michael Brantley (.300 batting average, 5 HRs, 22 RBIs) moved to the designated hitter role, opening up an outfield slot for top prospect Kyle Tucker (.268, 9, 42). Otherwise, the batting order looked like last year's World Series club but the lineup was hit by nagging injuries and struggled to dominate. The team batting average was just .240 (10th in the league) and produced 279 runs (4.65 runs per game, seventh in the league).

The most curious case belonged to former MVP Altuve (.219, 5, 18) who seemed to be under a voodoo curse the way he performed until the playoffs. Perhaps bearing the emotional weight of a cheating scandal he had chosen not to be part of yet was often the face depicted in the media, did much to depress the usually cheerful Venezuelan.

He was not alone. Bregman (.242, 6, 22), Yuli Gurriel (.232, 6, 22), Josh Reddick (.245, 4, 23) and oft-injured Aledmys Diaz (.241, 3, 6) were also stung by slumps.

Early in the season, Correa (.264, 5, 25) carried the team then George Springer (.265, 14, 32) joined in. Catcher Martin Maldonado (.215, 6, 24) was never known as a heavy hitter but he delivered solid work behind the plate and some clutch hits while playing in 47 games. The rest of the bench failed to have success on offense.

There were schedule quirks due to positive virus tests, Hurricane Laura and protests over police violence. Doubleheaders were shortened to seven-inning games. Houston played a few road games as the "home" team. As Oakland ran away with the division, the Astros limped through a 10-17 September. However, an expanded playoff bracket to compensate for the short season allowed the Astros a spot in the postseason. At 29-31, the Astros had a chance to make history as the first team with a losing record to win a championship.

The Wild Card Round... (Full Recap)

Despite winning the American League Central, the Minnesota Twins had one problem: their history. The cash-strapped club had lost 16 consecutive playoff games, dating back to 2004. However, the best-of-three Wild Card series would be held completely at Target Field, giving the home team a distinct advantage.

The opener was a 1-1 tie through eight innings until Houston filled the bases against Twins reliever Sergio Romo on two singles and an error. Altuve walked to force in the go-ahead run then Brantley punched a single to center to get two more runs home. Valdez, working in relief of Greinke, coaxed a double play ball in the ninth to clinch the 4-1 victory.

The next day, another 1-1 tie was broken on Correa's solo homer to center and Houston dispatched Minnesota to their 18th straight playoff defeat in a 3-1 triumph.

The ALDS... (Full Recap)

Unlike the Wild Card Round, the Division Series was hosted at a neutral site, in this case Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, as both teams played under the "bubble" protocol to limit COVID exposure. The Astros had dropped seven of ten games against the 36-24 Athletics (8 of 10 were played in Oakland) during the regular season and the A's were confident they could extend Houston's misery.

An unusual October heat wave made the balls fly out in the afternoon sun. McCullers was lit for five runs (four earned), including three homers but the Astros countered with homers from Bregman and Correa in the fourth for three runs then pulled away with a four-run seventh to administer a 10-5 spanking in Game 1 of the best-of-five series.

The second game was a 5-2 victory as Springer homered twice and drove in three. Maldonado also went deep. Valdez shrugged off two solo homers to get the win after seven solid innings.

A five-run fifth gave Houston a 7-4 lead in Game 3 but Oakland stormed back against James and Raley to post a 9-7 decision. In the decisive game four, Brantley went deep twice while Correa and Altuve also homered to pace an 11-6 clincher. The power surge that the Astros had lacked for most of the short season, was roaring back to life at the best possible time.

The ALCS... (Full Recap)

The scene moved to Petco Park in San Diego for the ALCS against Tampa Bay. The 40-20 Rays had the league's best record and outlasted their division-rival Yankees on a dramatic Game 5 homer in the eighth off Aroldis Chapman. Altuve opened the series with a homer off Blake Snell but the Rays scored twice against Valdez and held on for a 2-1 Game 1 decision.

Tampa scored three in the first in Game 2 and coasted to a 4-2 verdict. Then a five-run sixth gave the Rays a 5-2 win, giving them a dominant 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. The Rays were combining a dominant bullpen and exceptional defense, as they had all year. Altuve, meanwhile was showing signs of the stress, misfiring throws from his second base position even though his hitting had picked up.

When all looked lost, the Astros bounced back. Homers from Altuve and Springer led a 4-3 triumph in Game 4 as Greinke lasted six innings before Javier and Pressly shut Tampa down. The next afternoon was a 3-3 nailbiter going into the ninth when Correa drilled a walk-off homer into the California sunset.

In Game 6, a four-run fifth inning carried Houston to a 7-4 victory that evened the series. Those hoping these "cheating Astros" would finally get their comeuppance were disappointed to see Houston once again one win away from reaching the World Series in the most improbable of circumstances.

Game 7 was a matchup of past Houston postseason heroes, McCullers versus Charlie Morton, who had left the Astros to sign with Tampa in 2019. The Rays jumped on McCullers for three early runs while Morton kept the Astros scoreless for 5-2/3rd innings. A two-run single by Correa in the eighth was not enough as Tampa Bay took their second American League title in a 4-2 verdict.

For Baker and his club, the postseason rally took some of the gloom off a difficult and disappointing season. The questions going forward would be whether this might be the decline of the best stretch in the franchise's history and whether baseball was ever going to be the same as it had been just a year earlier.

Key Batters		HR	RBI	AVG
C	Martin Maldonado	6	24	.215
1B	Yuli Gurriel	6	22	.232
2B	Jose Altuve	5	18	.219
3B	Alex Bregman	6	22	.242
SS	Carlos Correa	5	25	.264
LF	Kyle Tucker	9	42	.268
CF	George Springer	14	32	.265
RF	Josh Reddick	4	23	.245
DH	Michael Brantley	5	22	.300
IF	Abraham Toro	3	9	.149
OF	Myles Straw	0	8	.207
IF	Aledmys Diaz	3	6	.247
C	Dustin Garneau	1	4	.158
Key Pitchers		W	L	ERA
SP	Framber Valdez	5	3	3.57
SP	Cristian Javier	5	2	3.48
SP	Lance McCullers	3	3	3.93
SP	Zack Greinke	3	3	4.03
SP	Jose Urquidy	1	1	2.73
CL	Ryan Pressly	1	3	3.43
RP	Andre Scrubb	1	0	1.90
RP	Blake Taylor	2	1	2.18
RP	Enoli Paredes	3	3	3.05
RP	Brandon Bielak	3	3	6.75

Before fake fans... (c) Houston Chronicle

Baker leads his troops (c) Getty Images

Altuve: Cursed season (c) Getty Images

Valdez: Breakout year (c) USA Today

Pressly: Pressed to close (c) USA Today

Javier: ROY Finalist (c) Houston Chronicle

Correa: Big playoff blows (c) Getty Images