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The 2022 season for the Houston Astros was the culmination of the 60 years that came before it. Unlike the 2017 season that went to Game 7s and the failed Series of 2019 and 2021, the 2022 Spacemen won the Worlds Championship in dominant fashion. They won 106 games in the regular season, swept the Mariners and Yankees in the playoffs and handcuffed a resiliant Phillies team to take the trophy. It was a near-perfect performance.

It was also the culmination of a 25-year managing career for Dusty Baker. The 73-year-old skipper, among the Top 10 winners in big league history, finally got the ring he had tried so hard to get. Even Astro-haters enjoyed the moment for the popular Baker.

For yet another season, the Astros had to adjust to the departure of a star player in free agency. This time, it was shortstop Carlos Correa, the captain of the team and the symbolic first building block of the Astros' dynasty.

A December lockdown lasted until March, preventing Correa and a host of other free agents from signing contracts. When the lockdown ended, Correa, who had fired his agent and signed with the notorious Scott Boras for representation, surpised everyone by choosing the Minnesota Twins in a three-year deal after demanding eight or more years from the other teams, including the Astros. Houston General Manager James Click didn't bite.

Click placed the pressure of replacing the All-Star on rookie Jeremy Pena, a 2018 third-round draft choice from the University of Maine whose progress was interrupted by COVID lockouts and a broken wrist. The son of big league infielder Geronimo Pena, Jeremy seemed to have Click's full confidence.

But the biggest contributor to Houston's success all season was the pitching staff. Ace Justin Verlander returned from Tommy John surgery that had kept him out since 2020. While there was a minor scare in spring training, Verlander's rebuilt right elbow survived the strain. He finished with an 18-4 record and a 1.75 ERA to capture his third American League Cy Young Award and second as an Astro (2019). Verlander had signed a discounted two-year deal for $25 million plus an opt-out clause to become a free agent after the first season.

Pushing Verlander statistically was lefthander Framber Valdez (17-6, 2.82), The Dominican won an All-Star nod and set a major league record with 26 consecutive "quality starts" (where a pitcher works at least six innings and allows three or fewer earned runs). He would become still more valuable in the postseason.

Houston went off-and-on with a six-man rotation to keep the staff from overworking their starters. It worked splendidly. The other four main starters were Luis Garcia (15-8, 3.72), Jose Urquidy (13-8, 3.94), Cristian Javier (11-9, 2.54) and Jake Odorizzi (4-3, 3.75). When veteran Lance McCullers (4-2, 2.27) returned in August from a forearm strain that had cost him four months, Odorizzi was traded to Atlanta for lefty reliever Will Smith (0-2, 3.27).

The only starting pitcher opposed to the six-man rotation was Verlander so Baker would push his starts up at times to satisfy his star pitcher. Longtime pitching guru Brett Strom retired then unretired to coach Arizona. His understudies, Joshua Miller and Bill Murphy, took over for Strom and had excellent results.

The bullpen also had a solid season led by closer Ryan Pressly (3-3, 2.98, 33 saves). Rafael Montero (5-2, 2.37, 14) took over when Pressly was out with injuries and paternity. Free agent addition Hector Neris (6-4, 3.72, 3) also made many late-inning appearances. Among the other bullpen figures who became increasingly reliable was Bryan Abreu (4-0, 1.94, 2).

Overall, the Astros topped the American League in ERA (2.90), runs allowed per game (3.20), saves (53), home runs allowed (134), hits allowed (1121) and strikeouts (1524). Simply, they were the best pitching staff in baseball.

The offense made noise too but they (and the league) were sharply down from 2017 when they won their first title. The Astros were fifth in the league in batting average (.248 compared to .282 in 2017), second in home runs (214 compared to 238), third in runs (737 compared to 896) and third in OPS (.743 compared to .823).

Yordan Alvarez (.306, 37 HRs, 97 RBIs) continued to mash along with Kyle Tucker (.257, 30, 107), Alex Bregman (.259, 23, 93) and Jose Altuve (.300, 28, 57). Rookie Pena surprised (.253, 22, 63). Senior citizens Yuli Gurriel (.242, 8, 53) and Martin Maldonado (.186, 15, 45) fell off noticeably, particularly in the season's first half. Michael Brantley (.288, 5, 26) injured his shoulder in June and missed the rest of the campaign.

Chas McCormick (.245, 14, 44) settled into center field but Baker tried Jose Siri (.178, 3, 10), Jake Meyers (.227, 1, 15) and Mauricio Dubon (.208, 3, 16) there as well.

With holes to fill or reinforce, Click went about making moves at the trade deadline. He dealt Siri and prospects in a three-team deal that acquired veteran 1B/OF Trey Mancini (.176, 8, 22) from Baltimore then added catcher Christian Vazquez (.250, 1, 10) from Boston. Both were pending free agents. Both suffered as Baker continued to start Gurriel and Maldonado, leaving them a lot of time on the bench.

The Astros got off to an 11-11 start in April as Anaheim jumped out to an early lead but then Houston fired off 11 straight wins (five by shutout) then the Angels lost 14 in a row, giving the Astros a lead they would never relinquish.

On May 17th, Houston tied a major league record with five homers in one inning during a 13-4 bombing at Boston. A month later, the Astros pounded the White Sox, 13-3, with ten runs in the sixth inning. The ChiSox were victims agains on August 18th in a 21-5 stomping. Alvarez also launched three massive home runs against Oakland on September 16th.

Back on June 25th, Javier tossed seven no-hit innings in New York against the Yankees, strinking out 13. Neris and Pressly finished for a 3-0 no-hitter, the 14th no-no in franchise history and a prelude of more to come.

The Astros finished with the best record in the American League (106-56) and the top playoff seed. For the first time in franchise history, the Astros completed the season with an all-time record above .500 (4831-4820). While the Dodgers of the National League stole headlines with a 111-win season, they stumbled again in the playoffs preventing an anticipated 2017 rematch.

The ALDS... (Full Recap)

Surprising Seattle finished second in the A.L. West with a 90-72 record and drew the Astros in the Division Series. It was hard-fought but over quickly. The Mariners had not made the playoffs since 2001.

Seattle jumped on Verlander for six runs and held a 7-3 lead going into the bottom of the eighth. Bregman crushed a two-run homer to close the lead but the Astros were still two runs down with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Alvarez faced vateran lefty Robbie Ray and drilled a laser into the right field seats with two aboard for a dramatic three-run walk-off homer and an 8-7 Game One triumph. Alvarez struck again in Game Two with a blast against Luis Castillo that keyed a 4-2 victory and a 2-0 series lead.

Game Three in Seattle mirrored the epic finish of the 2005 N.L.D.S. McCullers tossed six shutout innings but George Kirby responded with seven shutout frames. The bullpens took over and neither one would give up a run until the 18th inning. Pena smacked a 3-2 pitch into the seats in left-center for a solo homer and Luis Garcia made it stand up in a 1-0 clincher. Garcia, normally a starter, pitched five innings of two-hit ball for the win.

The ALCS... (Full Recap)

The chant rumbled in the bowels of Yankee Stadium, "We Want Houston! We Want Houston!" The Yankee fans got Houston and watched their 99-win team get stomped convincingly. Verlander, again, had the Game One start and was more like his normal self. He tossed six innings of three-hit ball, allowing only a solo homer from Harrison Bader. Gurriel, McCormick and Pena broke up the pitchers duel with solo homers late en route to a 4-2 opening win.

In Game Two, Bregman golfed a three-run homer into the Crawford Boxes but Valdez gave back two runs in the fourth on an error. The pitchers held serve after that in a 3-2 Houston victory. Afterwards, losing pitcher Luis Severino called Bregman's shot "lucky" while Manager Aaron Boone blamed the open Minute Maid Park roof for keeping an Aaron Judge blast in the field of play where Tucker caught it. The Astros had won 5-of-7 during the regular season and clearly the pressure was getting to the Bronx Bombers.

That would show more clearly in Game Three back in the Bronx when "No-Hit" Javier re-enacted his regular season mastery. The Dominican righty bested Gerrit Cole, 5-0, hurling 5-1/3rd one-hit innings before the bullpen took over. A McCormick homer plated two runs early then three runs in the sixth when Bader and Judge misjudged a fly that put the game away.

Game Four was close yet anti-climactic. Pena belted a three-run homer but the score was tied, 4-4, after four innings. The Yankees went ahead in the sixth but the Astros grabbed the lead in the seventh on RBI singles from Alvarez and Bregman. Pressly earned his third save in four games in the 6-5 clincher but it was rookie Pena who was tabbed with the MVP Award for the series (.353, 1.176 OPS, two homers, four RBIs). It was Houston's fourth American League pennant in the six years.

The World Series... (Full Recap)

The new Collective Bargaining Agreement added a sixth playoff team to each league and (wouldn't you know?) the National League pennant would go to the sixth-seeded 87-75 Philadelphia Phillies. The Phils had seemingly rode the same Team of Destiny streak that their N.L. East brethren Washington Nationals did in 2019 and the Atlanta Braves did in 2021. Gulp. Would another great Astros season be ruined by an underdog on a hot streak?

It seemed that way in Game One of the World Series when Verlander (who was 0-6 lifetime in Series play at the time) gave up a five-run lead to the opportunistic Phillies. J.T. Realmuto broke the tie with a homer in the tenth for a 6-5 decision. Destiny's Darlings were at it again.

But they were no match for Valdez in Game Two. The Astros struck Zack Wheeler for five runs and coasted to a 5-2 win that evened the Series. Two nights later in Philadelphia, McCullers was drilled for five home runs in a 7-0 loss in Game Three. Ranger Suarez handcuffed the demoralized Astros as gossip quickly swirled that McCullers was tipping his pitches.

Game Four swung the momentum around in the most dominant of fashions. Javier was untouchable again, hurling six innings of no-hit ball with nine strikeouts. Abreu, Montero and Pressly closed it out in a 5-0 no-hit triumph that tied the Series at two apiece and smacked Destiny like a two-by-four in the face. The offense plated five runs in fifth off Aaron Nola but only the first run mattered. This was just the second no-hitter in World Series history following Don Larsen's perfect game in 1956.

Verlander returned for Game Five and snapped his personal jinx with a 3-2 squeaker. That left the dependable Valdez for Game Six. It was a scoreless game for the first five innings between Wheeler and Valdez. Then the Phils broke through on a long solo home run from Kyle Schwarber in the sixth. The Astros responded in their half. With two aboard, Alvarez launched the Series clincher over the batters backdrop in dead center field. Vazquez added an RBI single later in the inning but the Destiny Dragon had been slayed, 4-1, for the Astros' second Worlds Championship!

Pena was named the World Series MVP (.400, 1.023 OPS) although Valdez and Javier deserved it too. This time, there wasn't any doubt who was the best team in baseball and that they deserved the honor with no asterisks.

Key Batters		HR	RBI	AVG
C	Martin Maldonado	15	45	.186
1B	Yuli Gurriel	8	53	.242
2B	Jose Altuve	28	57	.300
3B	Alex Bregman	23	93	.259
SS	Jeremy Pena	22	63	.253
LF	Michael Brantley	5	26	.288
CF	Chas McCormick	14	44	.245
RF	Kyle Tucker	30	107	.257
DH	Yordan Alvarez	37	97	.306
IF	Aledmys Diaz	12	38	.243
IF	Mauricio Dubon	3	16	.208
DH	Trey Mancini	8	22	.176
OF	Jake Meyers	1	15	.227
Key Pitchers		W	L	ERA
SP	Justin Verlander	18	4	1.75
SP	Framber Valdez	17	6	2.82
SP	Luis Garcia	15	8	3.72
SP	Jose Urquidy	13	8	3.94
SP	Cristian Javier	11	9	2.54
CL	Ryan Pressly	3	3	2.98
RP	Rafael Montero	5	2	2.37
RP	Hector Neris	6	4	3.72
RP	Ryne Stanek	2	1	1.15
RP	Bryan Abreu	4	0	1.94

Verlander: Third Cy Young (c) Associated Press

Valdez: Mr. Quality Start (c) Houston Chronicle

Javier: Two no-hitters (c) Associated Press

Alvarez: Historic homers (c) Houston Chronicle

McCormick: Epic Series catch (c) Fox Television

Pena: Postseason hardware (c) Associated Press

Baker: Mission accomplished (c) Houston Chronicle